Best Free Video Players for macOS: Top 5 Picks

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Download Best Free Video Player for Mac (Big Sur Inclu.)

Posted by Kaylee Wood | Last update: March 26, 2021

There are dozens of video players compatible with Mac OS, but finding the best Mac video player is not an easy thing, especially when you want it to be an all-round media player to support MKV/AVI/MP4/WMV/SWF etc. videos up to 4K. It’s not advised to chase after big names like QuickTime, as they don’t always perform well to play videos on Mac computer.

So, How to Choose the Best Free Video Player for Mac?

Although there is a list of video players for Mac, you are only going to need the top 1 Mac video player to lead the crown. Just check the following aspects you need to consider before choosing one.

1. Is it free of charge?

2. Is it free of ads, malware or spyware?

3. Does the Mac media player have slick and directive interface which is easy to manipulate?

4. Is it comprehensive enough to play videos in any format with good quality?

5. Does it own other features besides video playback?

OK, now let’s look at the top 10 video player for Mac with the above references in mind, and choose the best one bringing the best visual enhancement for your movie enjoyment.

Quick Access: Top 10 Video Players for Mac

No.1: 5KPlayer

NO.2: VLC Media Player

No.3: Elmedia Player Mac

No.4: MPlayerX

No.5: GOM Player

Top 5 Free Video Player for Mac to Play Media Files on Mac

No.1: 5KPlayer – Best Free Video Player for Mac

• Support macOS: macOS 11.0 (Big Sur), macOS Catalina and earlier
• Supported formats: MKV, MP4, HEVC (4K), H.264, VP8/9, AV1, HDR, 360°, DVD, MP3, etc.

As the top-notched Mac video player, 5KPlayer is quite comprehensive integrating with 3 main functions: video music playback , online video downloading (YouTube), and media free streaming. 5KPlayer is specifically designed to be the default media player on Mac and takes advantage of everything your Mac is capable of. As a new-style video player for both Mac and Windows 10, 5KPlayer not only satisfies the basic requirements listed above, but also possesses a slew of extra features.

Highlights of 5KPlayer:

• Multi-region DVD playback: Plays both homemade DVDs and commercially encrypted DVDs on Mac. No matter CSS-encrypted DVDs or region code enhanced DVDs, 5KPlayer will easily load them with subtitles to present the best quality.

• 360-degree Video Playback: Delivers spectacular 360-degree experience combined with a slick performance. Let you drag your file from top to bottom and side by side.

• Excellent 4K Performance: With the power to playback ultra HD videos in AVI (Divx/Xvid), MKV (H.265), MP4 (H.264), VP9 and AV1 on iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, etc, 5KPlayer is worthy to be the top 4K video player for Mac.

No. 2: VLC Media Player – Open-source Free Mac Video Player

• Support macOS: macOS 11.0 (Big Sur), macOS Catalina and earlier
• Supported formats: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3, DVD, etc.

VLC media player is the No.1 stable, flexible and lightweight open-source video player for Mac and other OS around today, especially when compared to others in playing unusual video formats. It simply handles tons of formats, from MPEG to FLV and RMBV files. V10 bit codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM, as well as the ability to play HD and BluRay. However, complaints about VLC varies like VLC audio delay problem and need to be resolved as soon as possible.

Highlights of VLC Media Player:

• Wide supported Operating System: VLC media player is an open-source multimedia player which compatible with Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, etc, over ten operating systems.

• Integration with web channel streaming services: Just right-click or CMD-click on the playlist, select Services Discovery and Channels.com. Channels.com will then appear in your VLC media player playlist.

• Plays blu-ray: This Mac media player also plays DVD, CD, and VCD including Blu-ray DVDs. It is the first free video player that can playback encrypted DVDs.

No.3: Elmedia Player Mac – Tailor-made Video Player for Mac Only

• Support macOS: Mac OS X 10.9+
• Supported formats: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, FLV, SWF, WMV, MP3, etc.

Specifically and professionally designed for Mac computer only, Elmedia Player Mac is a fairly expert free media player for Mac indeed. With its accumulated skills in Mac-based programs, Elmedia Player Mac well understands what Mac users really need when they need to play lists of media files on Mac computer.

Highlights of Elmedia Player Mac:

• As a universal video player, Elmedia Player well supports mainstream video formats like DivX, WMV, FLV, SWF, AVI, MOV MP4 and more.

• Flexible Playback Experience: You may watch the videos in full-screen mode, hide the control panel, or pin the video playback windows to tier-one.

No. 4: MPlayerX – Delicate & Lightweight Video Player for Mac

• Support macOS: Mac OS X 10.7 or later.
• Supported formats: 3GP, AVI, ASF, FLV, Matroska, MOV (QuickTime), MP4, etc.

Similar in flexibility to 5KPlayer , MPlayerX can play almost any format of file, it is very lightweight on resources and easy to use. And just like 5KPlayer, MPlayerX has been designed specifically with Macs in mind and supports Apple Remotes, full screen mode, changing of subtitle size, and it also picks up from the last point you stopped the video. Many Mac users take MPlayerX media player as a standard part of their toolbox simply because it works properly and almost all popular codecs are in it. BTW, it is also an open-source Mac media player.

Highlights of MPlayerX

• Play almost any video or audio.

• Very simple to use.

• Support subtitles.

No. 5: GOM Player – The Only Media Player with Subtitle Library

• Support macOS: Mac OS X 10.13 High Sierra or later (Beta)
• Supported formats: AVI, MP4, MKV, FLV, WMV, MOV, etc.

The ability to play multiple media formats of this Mac video player is because it allows you to find codecs. Besides, it also let you play damaged files or a file being downloaded. The most shining part of GOM Player is that it can automatically search and sync subtitles for the movie being playing, that’s why it is always on the list. However, the subtitle feature is only supported in the full version which you need to pay $25. BTW, if you need 360-degree video playback, you will be disappointed as GOM 360 feature is only supported on Windows computer.

Highlight of GOM Player:

• Allow for codec download.

• Play files that are damaged or being downloaded.

• Search and sync subtitles for the movie being played.

How to Play Videos on Mac with Mac Video Player?

Here, we will take 5KPlayer as an example, which handles media playback on Mac hassle-free.

Step 1: Free download 5KPlayer on your Mac, install and launch it.

Tips and Notes
>> For more movie resources on Mac/iMac/Macbook, just use 5KPlayer to download 4K 5K HD from Vimeo and a whole lot of 300+ video streaming websites.

>> Likewise, 5KPlayer is also a free music downloader for Mac which empowers you to download music from Soundcloud and more music streaming resources.

Step 2: Play 4K videos with 5KPlayer.

A drag-n-drop can set up this Mac video player to play videos and movies.

Tips and Notes
>> To make 4K HD playback on Mac/iMac/Macbook professional, 5KPlayer attaches utilities to add subtitles, rotate videos, and enables free sountrack option and video-subtitle sync.

After comparing the above 10 Mac media players, they are all excellent in playing common SD videos, though some of them have difficulty in playing high-resolution 4K videos or playing new codec like AV1. Regardless of that, 5KPlayer is chosen to be the best free video player for Mac in terms of its superb 4K playing performance as well as its multiple functions, say YouTube video download, DLNA media streaming, AirPlay iPhone iPad and free IPTV streaming.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best video player for Mac?

The best, being the keyword, depends on your needs. If you are just searching for a video player to play common SD videos in low resolution, 5KPlayer, VLC, Elmedia Player, MPlayerX and GOM are all qualified. However, you should keep in mind that some MP4, MKV, AVI, etc. videos are encoded in HEVC, H.264, AV1 or VP9 which may be hard for a video player to decode. In terms of video playing types today mainly including DVD, HD MP4/MKV/AVI, 360-degree, HDR and 4K playback, you are suggested to use 5KPlayer to play 4K and 360-degree videos, use VLC to play HDR and DVD files, and use GOM Player for searching subtitles.

Is VLC player safe for Mac?

Yes, it is. VLC media player is an open-source media player for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and more. Over 3.5 billion downloads as of now, it is obviously trusted by vast number of users.

How do I play video files on my Mac?

When you have difficulty in playing videos on Mac with the default Mac media player QuickTime, you are highly suggested to try third-party video player to play MKV, MP4, AV1, HDR, 4K, etc. videos. If you insist in your QuickTime, you can also choose to convert the video formats to QuickTime-supported formats to play.

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