Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to mpv
20 entertainment tools sit alongside mpv in this directory. Below is what separates each from mpv on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- -
- mpv starts at
- Free
Why people look past mpv
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the mpv entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
mpv publishes a single plan, mpv at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free open source Mac video player built on mpv, with a native macOS interface
Priced and rated the same as mpv on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Paid media player for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac with strong network share and cloud library streaming
- Publishes an entry price of $1.99/month, where mpv does not.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 3 tiers to mpv's 1.
Free open source BitTorrent client with a built in search tab and no thin-client remote mode
Priced and rated the same as mpv on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Ticket resale marketplace charging both buyers and sellers, with combined fees often a large share of face value
- Sold on a Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 2 tiers to mpv's 1.
Free ad-supported streaming from Roku, with an optional paid live TV add-on layer
- Sold on a Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 2 tiers to mpv's 1.
Podcast app with episode inbox
- Publishes an entry price of $24.99/year, where mpv does not.
- 2 tiers to mpv's 1.
Every mpv alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mpv (this page) | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | |
| IINAIf you want the same mpv engine wrapped in a full native Mac graphical interface | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs mpv |
| InfuseIf you want a browsable library across Apple TV, iOS and Mac rather than a command line tool | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs mpv |
| qBittorrentIf your need is downloading media files rather than playing them back | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs mpv |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs mpv |
| The Roku Channel | Free | Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons | 2 | vs mpv |
| Castro | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs mpv |
| Castbox | Free | - | 2 | vs mpv |
| Emby | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs mpv |
| Apple TV+ | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs mpv |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs mpv |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs mpv |
| Philo | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | vs mpv |
| fuboTV | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs mpv |
| DirecTV Stream | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs mpv |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs mpv |
| ESPN+ | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs mpv |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs mpv |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs mpv |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs mpv |
| Apple Music | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs mpv |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the mpv badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (11)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- IINA , Free
- Infuse , Free, then $1.99/month
- qBittorrent , Free
- StubHub , Free
- The Roku Channel , Free
- Castro , Free, then $24.99/year
- Castbox , Free
- Emby , Free, then $4.99/month
What you would be giving up
mpv is most often brought in for a developer who wants to script or automate media playback rather than click through a graphical app, a linux user who wants a lightweight player without the overhead of a full desktop application shell, someone embedding video playback into another tool or workflow rather than using it as a standalone app, a power user who prefers editing a text config file over navigating a settings panel. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If mpv is broadly right and the question is cost, the mpv pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Entertainment category lists everything the directory holds, and best entertainment tools ranks them.
mpv runs on mac, windows, linux. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about mpv alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to mpv?
- 20 other entertainment tools are listed in this directory, led by IINA, Infuse, qBittorrent, StubHub. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to mpv?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: IINA, Infuse, qBittorrent, StubHub, The Roku Channel.
- Why do people look for an alternative to mpv?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from mpv?
- mpv is most often brought in for a developer who wants to script or automate media playback rather than click through a graphical app, a linux user who wants a lightweight player without the overhead of a full desktop application shell, someone embedding video playback into another tool or workflow rather than using it as a standalone app, a power user who prefers editing a text config file over navigating a settings panel. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to mpv?
- None of the entertainment tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these mpv alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Entertainment, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare mpv against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against mpv covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every entertainment tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Entertainment category, 20 tools beside mpv. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.