Alternatives to MPC-HC
The lightweight Windows classic, community-maintained
MPC-HC ranks #6 of 7 in Video players, with an Alt Score of 68. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, free and available on Windows. 7 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Windows users who want a free, no-frills local media player, especially on older or low-spec hardware, and who don't need cloud features or active vendor support.
A lightweight, open-source player that handles most common video and audio formats out of the box, with built-in codecs and filters so no separate codec pack is needed. It includes DVB tuner support for watching and recording digital TV, extensive playback and customization options, and no ads, toolbars, or bundled spyware. Note: development stopped after the 1.7.13 release in July 2017, so it receives no updates or security fixes.
Install the standalone player (or the x64/ARM64 build) on Windows, then open a local video or audio file directly or via right-click/drag-and-drop; playback, subtitles, and audio/video filters are configured through the main window's menus and options dialogs.
Why people leave MPC-HC
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How MPC-HC compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Video players checklist | MPC-HC | VLC | mpv | IINA | Infuse | SMPlayer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Every fact and feature listed for MPC-HC is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License GPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-10
Version 3, 29 June 2007
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/COPYING.txt -
Platforms Windows verified 2026-07-10
Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (MPC-HC) is a free and open-source video and audio player for Windows.
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
Changes from 2.7.2 to 2.7.3
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/releases/tag/2.7.3 -
Format support breadth Yes verified 2026-07-10
HEVC (H.265) / VVC (H.266) / AV1 video, and AC4 audio.
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Hardware decoding Yes verified 2026-07-10
Supports GPU assisted decoding.
https://mpc-hc.org/about/ -
Subtitle handling Yes verified 2026-07-10
Improved subtitle rendering performance, and ability to use libass. Plus support for WebVTT.
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Streaming (DLNA, network) Yes verified 2026-07-10
You can stream videos directly from Youtube and many other video websites
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Playback speed & A-B loop Yes verified 2026-07-10
Speed control confirmed; MPC-HC also has A-B repeat.
Adjust playback speed
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Plugins / scripting Partial verified 2026-07-10
Extensible via DirectShow filters; no native scripting.
Being a DirectShow player, it also allows flexibility and extensibility through third party filters.
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-10
free and open-source video and audio player for Windows
https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/blob/develop/Readme.md
FAQ
Yes. VLC, mpv and IINA have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
VLC, mpv and IINA — every license claim links its source.