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VLC media player vs PotPlayer: catalog facts
VLC media player	PotPlayer
Free Free software from a non-profit; there is no paid tier and no advertising in the player.	Free Free to download and use.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows
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	Built-in codecs, no codec packs needed Hardware acceleration with DXVA, CUDA and QuickSync
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	Windows only Closed source
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-2.0	License: Proprietary
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 1, 2026

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