What are the best video players for macOS?

Question

10

Options
Considered

228

User
Recs.

Jan 9, 2021

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 7 OptionsWhy?

Best video players for macOS	Price	Supported platforms	Platforms
92 IINA	-	-	-
-- MPV	-	Windows, Linux, Mac, Android etc.	-
65 VLC	-	-	Windows/MacOS/Linux/Android/iOS/ChromeOS/AppleTV
-- QuickTime	-	-	-
-- Kodi	-	-	-

See Full List

6 Other Options Considered

MPV

Top Con

Lack of a typical GUI can be jarring to some

The minimal interface comes at the cost of beginner-friendliness. You need to know keyboard shortcuts by heart, settings are set in text files, right-clicking won't bring up a menu, etc. See More

Top Pro

Open source

It's free, open source and works on many platforms See More

Ray's Experience

Blazing fast and doesn't require installation of other codecs. Everything I needed was included and ready out of the box; I didn't even configure anything. It just works. See More

Specs

Supported platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, Android etc.

Top Pro

Best video quality

Offers better out-of-the-box video quality than VLC, and can be improved more by using the HQ profile option. See More

Top Pro

Minimal interface

The whole interface is just a video with a minimal OSD. See More

Top Pro

Needs no additional codecs

Everything MPV needs to play media files is contained within which means no outside codecs are needed. See More

See All

VLC

Top Con

Not so great for audio files

While VLC is doing a good job with video reproducing, it is fairly suitable for audio files. See More

Top Pro

Plays back almost everything

From basic .avi to .mov, VLC is capable of playing BluRay, HD and most common video format types used on Mac – .mp4 & .mov. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows/MacOS/Linux/Android/iOS/ChromeOS/AppleTV

Release Date:August 19, 2019

Top Con

Not really meant to be a music player

VLC is made to be a video player. Therefore, it won't carry out actions such as managing your music library. See More

Top Pro

Fast and light software

Players efficiency is based on good compatibility with OS X and light weight. See More

Top Con

Some insignificant, but irritating flaws

Despite all keyboard shortcuts, the width of the picture can not be controlled by trackpad. Besides that, VLC start up window doesn’t open at the same place, or same width it was previously closed at. See More

Top Pro

No payment is required

VLC is free to download. Despite this fact, it is frequently updated just to correspond with users needs. See More

Top Con

Has problems with video formats used on iTunes

Unfortunately, if .mp4 & .mov is not a problem, then .m4P is. VLC video player can play .m4A and .m4V files, but .m4p audio files will be a problem. See More

Top Pro

Great ability to play content over the network

Software is capable of creating and connecting to a video stream. See More

Top Con

Limited personalization/customization available

Player has only one basic interface in white or black colour. There are a numerous skins available for VLC, but at the moment do not work with the OSX version of the application. There are some third-party skins that Mac users can download though. See More

Top Pro

Vast amount of keyboard shortcuts

VLC player can be controlled with simple and customizable keyboard commands. See More

Top Pro

Tons of advanced settings

Besides basic configurations, video player has great amount of adjustable settings. See More

Top Pro

Simple to setup and use

VLC is an incredibly robust application but very simple on the surface. It makes playing music simple, yet still manages to give the user all the tools he/she wants in a music player. See More

Top Pro

Can be almost completely keyboard-driven

VLC includes keyboard shortcuts for most actions. The video player can be controlled with simple and customizable keyboard commands. See More

Top Pro

Chromecast support

Version 3 of VLC has built in support for Chromecast making it easy to play videos on a laptop and watch on a bigger screen connected to a Chromecast. See More

Top Pro

Free, open source, and cross-platform

VLC is licensed under the CC-SA v3.0+ and available on Windows, OSX, and Linux with source code available here. See More

Top Pro

Built-in audio equalizer

As sometimes audio track of a video file can be quieter than usual, it is possible to boost the sound a little bit without major distortion. See More

See All

QuickTime

Top Con

Video player can interfere with other software

Leaving QuickTime's video player running in background doesn't play well with certain software, especially games and full-screen software. See More

Top Pro

Recording and editing is possible

Unlike other video players, QuickTime offers recording and editing opportunity. To unlock this features QuickTime Pro 7 is required, which is a fee-based software (29.99$). Program features include possibility to record video and audio directly from microphone, FireWire camcorder and iSight camera. Speaking of video editing, cutting, deleting, resizing, flipping, or rotating a movie is possible. See More

ResourcefulAmmit's Experience

I like to click on a file and have it play not wait for 30 minutes while it is verified and then converted to some internal format. I don't want to also open everything I've watched lately. They forget what the point is. Just play the damn movie! See More

Top Con

Some common video file formats are not supported

QuickTime does not have native support for some common formats such as DivX, .wmv, and .mkvs. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use streaming features

QuickTime video player has "Zero-configuration streaming" - video player automatically determines best connection speed. Plus, it can automatically reconnect, if the connection was lost. Step by step video file stream or broadcast guide can be found in the source. See More

Ray's Experience

Laggy when playing certain formats and takes a long time to launch. See More

Top Con

Can't play .srt subtitle files

Top Pro

Screen recording is a easy

Top Con

Crashes after OS X update

Sometimes after an OS X update, if the video player wasn’t updated for a long time, QuickTime can crash for no reason See More

Top Pro

Elegant look and comfortable interface

QuickTime is developed by Apple, which is known for its plain, but gorgeous and user-friendly design. QuickTime is included in the list of default programs on macOS systems, so it is a good free option for beginners and users who love style and comfort. See More

Top Pro

Posh smell

Look up Posh and see if you think a software movie player should be POSH. What a hoot. See More

See All

5KPlayer

Add Video or Image

MplayerX

Top Con

System crash is more frequent

MPlayerX creshes occur more often than in usual video players. They should be tackled properly. See More

Top Pro

Pleasant Mac Style view

MplayerX fits in OSX environment perfectly with it’s hot keys and plain, but stylish design, giving pleasure to work with See More

ReverentMictlanpachecatl's Experience

It does nothing but crash now, and even the App Store version is corrupt See More

Top Con

High CPU usage is possible

Sometimes after the player or OS X update file reproduction can demand a significant part of CPU usage See More

Top Pro

Players “memory” of a last reproduced file

If turned off, player will start file reproduction from exact spot it was interrupted on See More

Top Con

No proper playlist feature

In spite of easy and comfy smart-play, in general playlist isn’t user friendly See More

Top Pro

Smart-play or automatic next video file search

For example, if number of files with sequent names are mashed up and thrown in the playlist, MplayerX is able to reproduce them in right order See More

Top Con

No retina display support on old OSX

MPlayerX does not support retina display on OS X older than Mountain Lion, but amount of Mac’s with older OS X are quite rare nowadays See More

Top Pro

Smart multi-touch control

Convenient track pad commands, that allows user to toggle full screen, change frame size, aspect ratio and volume. To learn more, watch an easy and understandable "how-to" youtube video in the sources. See More

Top Pro

Compatibility with other Apple products

File reproduction can be controled with an Apple remote, that awards user with more freedom. Furthermore, dirrect pass through is possible. Start streaming, connect and enjoy your home theatre See More

Top Pro

Softwere was designed specially for OS X

As OS X is the only supporting system, the amount of bugs and problems is minimized. This also means, that player can play .m4p, .mp4 & .mov video files. See More

See All

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IINA

Top Pro

Like MPV with better GUI and settings

It's like mpv, just more user friendly GUI and more settings available via UI. See More

Top Con

Black out other displays when doing full screen

puzzyhunter84's Experience

Just a great media player See More

Top Pro

Doesn't black out other displays when doing full screen

It can black out other screens if you want, but out of the box it leaves your other displays alone. See More

Top Con

Will not correctly play 10-bit h265 full HD video files

Try skipping forward or backward and the playback fails. See More

JollyTonacatecuhtli's Experience

I use this for everything from audio to video to youtube downloading. Love how it seamlessly integrates with my Mac in functionality and design language (like Force Touch, PiP and Touch bar support), and it is very stable. See More

Top Pro

Support for lots of codecs

Supports lots of video codecs, like mp4, mkv, etc, and lots of audio codecs including opus See More

Top Con

Crashes repeatedly when playing .avi files

GregariousXamanEk's Experience

It's like mpv just with a lot of settings accessible to end user via preferences, while in mvp you have to edit it's conf file if you want to set something as your preference. Plus IINA can use mvp conf file too. It's great, it uses more or less the same CPU while playing, can't say which one uses more, because it's down to 1-3% fluctuating difference. IINNA uses more cpu when seeking video, though. See More

Top Con

Unstable

May crash unexpectedly, while clicking on something in the subtitles section in the right-hand panel, for example. See More

BrightArtemis's Experience

Will not correctly play 10-bit h265 full HD video files. Try skipping forward or backward and the playback fails. See More

Top Con

No reason at all, unless you prefer less CPU usage when seeking, as compared to mvp

AwarePriapus's Experience

Very unstable See More

MeticulousPhantasos's Experience

Super Easy to use See More

See All

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The Best 1 of 7 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for IINA

My Recommendation for IINA

Like MPV with better GUI and settings

Black out other displays when doing full screen

Doesn't black out other displays when doing full screen

Will not correctly play 10-bit h265 full HD video files

Support for lots of codecs

Crashes repeatedly when playing .avi files

Unstable

No reason at all, unless you prefer less CPU usage when seeking, as compared to mvp

6 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for MPV

My Recommendation for MPV

Lack of a typical GUI can be jarring to some

Open source

Best video quality

Minimal interface

Needs no additional codecs

My Recommendation for VLC

My Recommendation for VLC

Not so great for audio files

Plays back almost everything

Not really meant to be a music player

Fast and light software

Some insignificant, but irritating flaws

No payment is required

Has problems with video formats used on iTunes

Great ability to play content over the network

Limited personalization/customization available

Vast amount of keyboard shortcuts

Tons of advanced settings

Simple to setup and use

Can be almost completely keyboard-driven

Chromecast support

Free, open source, and cross-platform

Built-in audio equalizer

My Recommendation for QuickTime

My Recommendation for QuickTime

Video player can interfere with other software

Recording and editing is possible

Some common video file formats are not supported

Easy to use streaming features

Can't play .srt subtitle files

Screen recording is a easy

Crashes after OS X update

Elegant look and comfortable interface

Posh smell

My Recommendation for Kodi

My Recommendation for Kodi

Can install on several devices

For some devices it requires them to be jailbroken or similar

Free

My Recommendation for 5KPlayer

My Recommendation for 5KPlayer

My Recommendation for MplayerX

My Recommendation for MplayerX

System crash is more frequent

Pleasant Mac Style view

High CPU usage is possible

Players “memory” of a last reproduced file

No proper playlist feature

Smart-play or automatic next video file search

No retina display support on old OSX

Smart multi-touch control

Compatibility with other Apple products

Softwere was designed specially for OS X

Don't see your favorite option? Add it.

My Recommendation for Elmedia Player

My Recommendation for Elmedia Player

My Recommendation for iFunia Media Player

My Recommendation for iFunia Media Player

My Recommendation for Apeaksoft Blu-ray Player for Mac

My Recommendation for Apeaksoft Blu-ray Player for Mac

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