# Alternatives to SMPlayer mpv/mplayer front-end with youtube support. SMPlayer ranks #5 of 7 in Video players, with an Alt Score of 68. It is licensed under GPL-2.0, free and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 8 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/smplayer/ Category: Video players ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Windows and Linux users who want a full-featured video/audio player without hunting for separate codec packs, including anyone who watches a lot of local media files or YouTube and wants playback to pick up where they left off. - **What you get**: SMPlayer is a free, open-source front-end for the mpv and MPlayer engines with codecs for most audio/video formats (AVI, MP4, MKV, H.264, etc.) built in. It remembers per-file settings like playback position, volume, audio track, and subtitles, so videos resume where you stopped. It can play YouTube videos directly, download subtitles from OpenSubtitles, and offers audio/video filters, equalizer, and playback speed controls. Multiple skins and icon themes are available for customization. - **How it works**: Install SMPlayer and open a local video/audio file, a disc, or a YouTube URL; it uses mpv or MPlayer underneath to decode and play it. Playback state is saved automatically per file, and settings/filters can be adjusted through the GUI without touching a config file. ## Profile - **License**: GPL-2.0 (verified 2026-07-10) - **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-10) - **Starts at**: ? - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-10) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [VLC](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/vlc.md) | 96 | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 2 | [mpv](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mpv.md) | 78 | GPL-2.0-or-later | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 3 | [IINA](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/iina.md) | 73 | GPL-3.0 | macOS | | 4 | [Infuse](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/infuse.md) | 73 | Proprietary | iOS, macOS | | 5 | [MPC-HC](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mpc-hc.md) | 68 | GPL-3.0 | Windows | | 6 | [MX Player](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mx-player.md) | 28 | Proprietary | Android, iOS | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Video players checklist | SMPlayer | VLC | mpv | IINA | Infuse | MPC-HC | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Free | Free | Free | Free | Freemium | Free | | Starts at | ? | ? | ? | ? | $1.99/month | ? | | License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-2.0-or-later | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 | | Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS | iOS, macOS | Windows | | Format support breadth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Hardware decoding | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Subtitle handling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Streaming (DLNA, network) | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Playback speed & A-B loop | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | | Plugins / scripting | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Partial | | Casting support | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | ? | | Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | No ads or upsells | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | Partial | ? | | Library management | No | Partial | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ## Sources Sources for SMPlayer. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “SMPlayer is a free media player for Windows, Linux and Mac OS with built-in codecs” - **License**: GPL-2.0 — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Version 2, June 1991” - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “SMPlayer is a free media player for Windows, Linux and Mac OS with built-in codecs” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “## [25.06] - 2025-06-08” - **Format support breadth**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “SMPlayer is a graphical user interface (GUI) for the award-winning MPlayer, which is capable of playing almost all known video and audio formats.” - **Hardware decoding**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Native support for VAAPI and VDA. Improved VDPAU” - **Subtitle handling**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Just open a video, and then select the option 'Find subtitles on opensubtitles.org' within the Subtitles menu.” - **Streaming (DLNA, network)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “You can play YouTube videos at 1080p or even at 4K resolution with SMPlayer.” - **Playback speed & A-B loop**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Speed control confirmed; A-B loop not evidenced. - Quote: “It's very easy to change the audio track, select subtitles, enable a video filter, change the playback speed...” - **Casting support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Now you can send videos from SMPlayer to your Chromecast device, including local files from your computer and online streams like TV channels or videos from sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vev” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Version 2, June 1991” - **Library management**: No — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Playlist-based, not a media library. - Quote: “The shuffle option in the playlist does shuffle the items of the playlist.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/