Alternatives to Winamp
It really whips… still around
Winamp ranks #7 of 9 in Music players, with an Alt Score of 68. It is proprietary, free and available on Windows, iOS and Android. 8 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Music listeners who want a lightweight, customizable desktop player, and independent artists who want tools to manage and monetize their music catalog and connect with fans.
Winamp is the classic skinnable MP3/media player from the late 1990s and 2000s, discontinued for a period and since revived and relaunched. It still offers local audio/media playback with playlist support and its signature customizable skins, and has expanded into a platform where artists can upload music, manage their catalog, and track revenue.
Listeners download the Winamp player for Windows and load, organize, and play their music library and streams; artists instead sign up for an account on winamp.com to upload tracks and manage their catalog and earnings through the web platform.
Why people leave Winamp
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Music players checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Music players checklist | Winamp | Strawberry | AIMP | Audirvana | foobar2000 | Roon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Format support (FLAC, DSD) | ||||||
| Library management | ||||||
| Gapless playback | ||||||
| ReplayGain | ||||||
| Streaming service integration | ||||||
| Plugins / skins | ||||||
| Last.fm scrobbling | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| Remote server playback | ||||||
| EQ & DSP |
Every fact and feature listed for Winamp is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
-
License Proprietary verified 2026-07-10
As from v5.8, Winamp is fully freeware again.
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
As from v5.8, Winamp is fully freeware again.
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Platforms Windows, iOS, Android verified 2026-07-10
Windows 7 SP1 or later
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
Winamp accelerates its Direct-to-Fan strategy with the global rollout of its merchandising ecosystem...
https://winamp.com/press -
Format support (FLAC, DSD) Partial verified 2026-07-10
FLAC Support - Filenames: libflac.dll | in_flac.dll. Adds support for FLAC playback.
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Library management Yes verified 2026-07-10
a complete Media Library that gives you access and organization over your media content, both online and offline.
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Gapless playback Yes verified 2026-07-10
Also provides support for: 1. Multi-speaker output 2. Gapless playback 3. Crossfading
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
ReplayGain Yes verified 2026-07-10
Replay Gain Analysis Tool - Filenames: ml_rg.dll | ReplayGainAnalysis.dll (Plugins dir). Used for volume levelling, to try make all audio files play at approximately the same volume
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Streaming service integration Yes verified 2026-07-10
Access over 30,000 Shoutcast Radio Stations
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Plugins / skins Yes verified 2026-07-10
Supports hundreds of additional plug-ins and add-ons
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
Open source No verified 2026-07-10
As from v5.8, Winamp is fully freeware again.
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-desktop-player-for-windows -
EQ & DSP Yes verified 2026-07-10
This button is used to access and edit your player equalizer.
https://support.winamp.com/winamp-mobile-player
FAQ
Yes. Strawberry, AIMP and foobar2000 have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Strawberry — every license claim links its source.