Windows comes with a few media player apps built in that are usually “good enough.” However, I’m not really a fan of any of them for one reason or another. If you’re looking for a media player that is different, more powerful, or just not Microsoft, here are 5 great alternatives for you.
MPC-BE
MPC-BE is a lightweight, minimalist media player available for Windows 10 and Windows 11, and it’ll likely work on older versions of Windows.
The user interface is what really stands out about MPC-BE. MPC-BE is built on the original Media Player Classic project, and much of its user interface directly takes inspiration from the media player that you might have expected to see in Windows XP.
Despite the user interface throwback, it doesn’t make any practical sacrifices. So long as you have the required codec, it can play any of the latest video file formats without issue.
Because it is so lightweight, I’ve found that MPC-BE often shines on low-power or slightly older PCs.
MPC-BE is available from the Microsoft Store and SourceForge.
PotPlayer
PotPlayer is another lightweight multimedia player available for Windows.
The user interface is pretty standard, but that belies a program that is unbelievably flexible.
As soon as you click “PotPlayer” in the upper-left corner, you’re exposed to a dropdown menu that is nested at least four layers deep. You can tweak almost anything you want about the program, from cosmetic things like the colors of the titles in your playlist to the nitty-gritty details of the audio playback settings.
If you love to tinker, or just like to pretend you’ll customize something extensively, PotPlayer is a great option.
One of the features I love the most about PotPlayer is its ability to automatically find and list subtitles for the media files you’re playing. It isn’t a big deal if whatever you’re watching or listening to has them already, but if you need them for your daily media consumption, or even just occasionally struggle to discern a muttered line of dialogue, it is a fantastic feature.
PotPlayer is available from its website or the Microsoft Store.
MusicBee
MusicBee is a media player designed specifically for local music. If you’re like me, and you’ve slowly been converting your CD collection to ensure it isn’t lost to time, this sort of app is invaluable.
On the surface, MusicBee is pretty no-frills. The user interface that greets you is minimalist and easy to use. However, unlike many modern apps that aim to have a clean user interface, it doesn’t sacrifice usability.
The tabs along the top let you view and manage your music using a few different layouts, and you can create new ones that suit your needs by clicking the plus button along the top.
The real standout with MusicBee is the built-in CD ripper. Whenever I buy an old CD to store on my music drive, I use MusicBee to grab the music and then automatically integrate it into my library. It makes what was once a slightly tedious process completely pain free.
MusicBee is available from the MusicBee website.
MPV
MPV is the ultimate minimalist media player. In fact, when you first launch it, there aren’t any buttons visible at all. You don’t have to install it—you run it directly from the executable. It doesn’t get more minimalist than that.
Once you drag and drop a media file in, a pretty standard set of tools appear along the bottom that lets you pick a time, change audio, video, and subtitle settings, and other media player essentials.
MPV is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, and OpenBSD, among others. The source code is also available on GitHub, so if you’re particularly motivated, you could compile it for a different operating system if you really wanted to.
Screenbox
ScreenBox is another minimalist multimedia player, though it isn’t quite as austere as MPV. The entire thing is designed to mesh nicely with Windows 11’s Fluent design aesthetic, and it does that quite well. If I didn’t know it was developed by a third party, it could definitely pass as a native Windows 11 app.
You can add both your video and music library to the app so you don’t have to manually open files one by one.
Though it can play back both music and video, I was left with the impression that it is a better video player than a music player.
Screenbox’s settings aren’t quite as granular as some of the other options on this list, but I had no problems running a few different kinds of media with it. If you’re looking for something that “just works” and isn’t loaded with options you probably won’t use, Screenbox is a good choice.
It is available from the Microsoft Store.
You should always be careful when downloading apps from the internet, but I’d recommend a bit of extra caution when you’re searching for media players. While researching and testing apps, I encountered three separate free media players that were malware.
Try to stick to apps that have a reasonable number of reviews, are from reputable developers, or are hosted on reputable websites.
