Compare software

Zoom Player vs VLC media player: catalog facts
Zoom Player	VLC media player
Paid Sold through the developer's store; check the site for current editions and prices.	Free Free software from a non-profit; there is no paid tier and no advertising in the player.
Windows	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Deep customization with skins and many settings Media library with metadata scraping	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
Windows only Paid software, unlike most free players	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
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026

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