The best free video players allow you to watch your favorite videos hassle-free - and without touching your wallet.
The best part of these video players (aside from being free) is that you don't need to download any codes or plugins or troubleshoot every new file you want to play.
Not all free video players are equal, however, and which is best for you depends on your individual needs. More advanced players have a bunch of settings and features for the tech-savvy to play around with, while others are much more straightforward, making them perfect for those who want to watch videos on their PC with ease.
Fortunately, we've tested and reviewed plenty of free video players, so we know which are the best around. Right now, our top pick is the VLC Media Player, which provides solid performance and is compatible with many file types and every OS, including iOS and Android. There are even customization options available for those who want to tweak their videos a bit - though, they're not always the easiest to find.
If VLC Media Player isn't for you, don't worry. We've rounded up our top four picks of the best free video players on the market, below, so you're sure to find one that suits your needs.
The best free video players 2024
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VLC Media Player is our go-to free video player right now. This versatile software can handle nearly anything you throw at it, including 360-degree videos, 8K movies and clips, and compressed video files. The real challenge is finding files this software can't play.
This free video player is straightforward to use for those who aren't fussed about customizing their videos, but if you want to let your creative flag fly, there's an impressive array of tools and controls at your disposal.
You can tweak your video settings to improve video playback and audio quality, and add filters to change the look of individual clips. VLC Media Player also works with synchronous subtitles, allowing you to watch movies with the sound turned off.
The only major downside of the VLC Media Player is that the interface hides many of these customization tools, so there's a significant learning curve to accessing and applying some of the more advanced features. But it's well worth the effort.
Read our full VLC Media Player review
5KPlayer is one of the more comprehensive free options for not just watching videos but managing your entire video collection. The software allows you to add your entire computer video library, so you can select videos from within 5KPlayer rather than searching your hard drive. On top of that, you can stream videos straight from YouTube, and use Apple’s AirPlay to display videos across multiple devices.
The player supports almost every type of video format you’re likely to come across, including 360-degree and 8K videos. The settings for managing your audio and video playback are pretty versatile, although they don’t quite stack up against the controls you’ll find in VLC Media Player.
The one thing to watch out for with 5KPlayer is that the free model is supported by ads. They won’t show up while you’re watching a video, but they can be annoying while searching your library or tweaking settings.
Among the best free video players out there, Pot Player is an incredibly powerful program. It has a massive array of codecs built in and offers support for 360-degree, 8K, and 3D videos. If you throw a file format at this software it doesn’t already support, Pot Player automatically downloads the needed codecs, which makes this one of the most user-friendly free video players you can download.
You wouldn’t know it from looking at the user interface, but Pot Player also contains some of the best free screen recorder and best video editing software you can get in an app like this. The options for customizing video playback are very impressive, while hotkeys allow you to access your most-used settings without a hitch.
As if all that weren’t enough, Pot Player is a surprisingly lightweight software. It loads faster than just about any other video player, free or paid, and uses up relatively few computer resources even when playing back large movies.
Read our full Pot Player review
