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VLC media player vs Decibels: catalog facts
VLC media player	Decibels
Free Free software from a non-profit; there is no paid tier and no advertising in the player.	Free Free, developed as part of GNOME with donations going to the GNOME Foundation.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Linux
Plays an unusually wide list of codecs and containers out of the box, including MPEG-1/2, H.264, H.265, VP8/VP9… No spyware, no advertising and no user tracking, stated on the project feature page	Opens a file and plays it with no library setup Waveform view with easy seeking
The stable desktop line is still 3.0.23; the 4.0 interface rewrite has not shipped The interface is functional rather than modern, and advanced options are buried in preference dialogs	No library, playlists or tag management Linux only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.