mpv
7.9#4 in media player softwareFree planFree planAndroidAPILinuxmacOS
Visitmpv vs SMPlayer
What both publish
| Fact | mpv | SMPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| 4K playback | Yes | Yes |
| Downloads | Official installation guidance covers Windows, macOS, Linux packages, Android, and source builds, while noting that many binaries are unofficial third-party builds. | The official downloads page offers versions for Windows, Linux, and macOS and provides source code. |
| Format support | Matroska (MKV),MP4 | AVI,ASF/WMV/WMA,QT/MOV/MP4,RealAudio/RealVideo,Ogg/OGM,Matroska,MPEG-1/2,H.264,MPEG-4,MP3,AAC,AC3,DTS,and more |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Hardware acceleration | Yes | Yes |
| License | mpv is GPLv2 or later by default, with an LGPLv2.1-or-later option when built with -Dgpl=false. | SMPlayer is free and open source under the GPL license. |
| License model | free | free |
| Network playback | Yes | Yes |
| Subtitle support | It supports a wide variety of subtitle types. | Yes |
| Support | The project directs users to IRC, GitHub Discussions, the issue tracker, and its wiki for questions, bugs, and scripts. | The project directs users to its forum for help and to its bug tracker to report bugs. |
| Supported platforms | Windows,macOS,Linux,Android | Windows,Linux,macOS |
mpv plans
- Free and open sourceFree
SMPlayer plans
- SMPlayerFree
Pick mpv if…
mpv suits users comfortable with command-line software who want broad media and subtitle support. Developers may also value its C API for embedding the player in other applications.
Pick SMPlayer if…
SMPlayer suits people looking for a no-cost player on Windows, Linux, or macOS, especially those who need subtitles, network playback, or playback controls. It may also suit viewers who want to resume files with remembered settings.