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VLC media player vs MPlayer: catalog facts
VLC media player	MPlayer
Free Free software from a non-profit; there is no paid tier and no advertising in the player.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, Command line
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	Plays almost any audio and video format No codec packs or installation needed
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	Command-line program with no graphical interface Windows builds are maintained by one independent person
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: GPL-2.0
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 October 2, 2026

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