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VLC media player vs SMPlayer: catalog facts
VLC media player	SMPlayer
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 2.0.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, 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	Remembers position, audio track and subtitles per file mpv and MPlayer engines, so format coverage is excellent
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	The interface is dated Qt and skins only go so far Two engines means two sets of quirks when something misbehaves
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 September 21, 2026

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