10 Best Video Player Apps for PC and Laptops

Watching videos on smartphones, PCs, or laptops has become an integral part of our daily lives. There are numerous excellent video player apps available for download on the Google Play Store to meet the increasing demand for high-quality video playback on smartphones.

However, many people still prefer using PCs and laptops to watch their favorite videos or movies. The primary reason is the larger and wider screen size, which enhances the viewing experience.

Watching videos on a PC or laptop requires a dedicated application, as the default video player provided by the operating system often has limited features.

In this article, we present a list of the top 10 video player applications for PCs and laptops, that you can download and use for a better watching experience.

1. VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a highly popular and versatile video player that has been around for years. It supports all video formats, including AVI, MP4, FLV, MKV, and RMVB. Although its appearance is simple, it offers a wide range of customization options for videos to fulfill various user preferences.

VLC Media Player also supports different audio file formats such as MP3, WMA, ALAC, FLAC, and Real Audio. It is compatible with multiple Windows platforms, including Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

2. Cisdem Video Player

Cisdem Video Player is a multi-platform video player application that can be used on both macOS-based PCs and laptops. It offers free and paid services, with the free version providing essential features such as video playback and subtitle support.

Its additional features include a screenshot tool and incognito mode, which prevents the app from recording your video playback history.

The paid version offers an exclusive video conversion feature, allowing users to convert videos into various formats, including specific formats for Samsung, Xiaomi, and iPhone devices. The premium service is available for a one-time purchase of approximately $9.99, with a lifetime license.

3. Media Player Classic with K-Lite Codec Pack

Throughout the evolution of Windows operating systems, from Windows XP to the most recent versions, Media Player Classic has consistently been a preferred choice for multimedia playback. The Carisinyal team, for example, frequently relies on this application to play a wide array of video formats.

A significant factor contributing to Media Player Classic's popularity is its seamless integration with the K-Lite Codec Pack, which greatly expands its capabilities.

The K-Lite Codec Pack comprises a collection of audio and video codecs tailored for Microsoft Windows DirectShow. This pack equips the operating system and its accompanying software with the ability to play a diverse range of audio and video formats that are typically not natively supported by the operating system.

In simpler terms, during the days of Windows XP and Windows 7, numerous video formats were incompatible with the built-in video player. Using Media Player Classic and the K-Lite Codec Pack together was a good way to solve this problem.

As it works with a wide range of formats, Media Player Classic can effortlessly play various video and audio formats, such as MP4, MKV, FLV, AAC, WAV, and many others.

Also, the application has a very easy-to-use layout that is clear and easy to understand. This allows users to enjoy a seamless experience without being disturbed by annoying advertisements or other disruptions.

Media Player Classic provides a comprehensive suite of features, including GPU control, audio and video decoders, and the capacity to play DVDs on PCs or laptops running on the Windows 11 operating system.

In addition to the previously mentioned features, Media Player Classic also supports a variety of subtitle formats, making it an ideal option for users who appreciate foreign language films or require closed captioning for accessibility reasons.

Visit the official website at Codecguide.com to get this app and learn how to use it.

4. KM Player

KM Player is a versatile multimedia application that offers rendering, processing, and decoding capabilities for a wide range of video formats.

With the KM Player app, you can effortlessly play various video formats, including MPEG4, MKV, AVI, WMV, and OGM. The player also supports 4K and Ultra High Definition (UHD) content, ensuring a high-quality viewing experience.

One of the standout features of KM Player is its quick menu tool, which allows users to easily adjust screen rotation and manage subtitle settings for a customized viewing experience.

Based on our experience with the app, we can confidently say that KM Player excels in video playback. Additionally, it offers enhanced audio settings with a louder volume output compared to other video player applications, ensuring that users enjoy an immersive audiovisual experience.

Another interesting feature of KM Player is its VR mode compatibility, which provides users with a more engaging and immersive viewing experience when using VR headsets.

Despite its extensive feature set, KM Player can be somewhat resource-intensive, which may affect the performance on lower-end devices. Furthermore, when connected to the internet, users may encounter occasional ad interruptions, although these are generally not too intrusive.

If you're interested in trying out KM Player for yourself, simply download the application to experience its robust video playback capabilities and extensive range of features.

Additionally, KM Player supports various audio formats and offers advanced audio settings, making it an excellent choice for users who demand high-quality audio playback alongside their video content.

5. GOM Player

The Gretech Online Movie Player, also known as GOM Player, is capable of playing a wide variety of video formats, including AVI, MP4, and MOV.

This free video player application comes packed with numerous features designed to enhance your video viewing experience. Some of these features include the ability to take screenshots, control playback speed, and add effects to both audio and video.

GOM Player also offers customization options, allowing users to change the theme of the user interface to create a personalized experience.

Despite being a lightweight application, GOM Player has a lot of features and it is designed to meet the wants of a wide range of users.

However, it is worth to note that the free version does contain ads. While these ads are generally not intrusive, users who prefer an ad-free experience can opt for the premium version, GOM Player Plus, which is available for $9.99. If you're interested to try GOM Player, visit the official website to download the application.

In addition to the features above, GOM Player also supports various subtitle formats, making it an excellent choice for users who enjoy watching foreign language films or require closed captioning for accessibility purposes.

6. Pot Player

Pot Player offers a range of exciting features, including 360-degree video output, 3D mode, pixel shader, and Blu-Ray playback. It is particularly suitable for fans of Korean dramas, as it is integrated with the Viki streaming site, which offers a wide variety of Asian TV series titles.

Pot Player provides various controls for playback and subtitle management, making it user-friendly. Its minimalist and straightforward design enhances your viewing experience, whether you are watching movies, videos, or your favorite Korean dramas.

7. DivX Player

DivX Player is a multifunctional video player application that accommodates a broad array of video formats, such as MP4, AVI, DivX, and even Ultra HD 4K videos. Beyond its video playback capabilities, DivX Player also supports various audio file formats and provides the option to browse photo galleries.

This application has several stunning features, including TrickPlay and Chapter Points, which allow users to seamlessly navigate between different scenes within a video.

Based on our experience, the installation process for DivX Player can be somewhat complex. Although the app is compatible with a vast number of formats, rendering specific formats on their servers might take some time when attempting to play videos in those formats.

Furthermore, users should be aware that the free version of DivX Player contains ads. If this doesn't pose a significant issue, DivX Player remains an impressive video player app worth exploring.

To begin using DivX Player, simply download the application and take advantage of its extensive features and format compatibility.

8. Ax-Lite Video Player

Ax-Lite Video Player is a complimentary video player application designed for use on PCs and laptops. This app has an easy-to-use interface, but it uses a lot of icons for its control choices, so it may take some time to get used to and learn how to use each menu.

The application offers additional features, such as an equalizer and interface customization options. Based on the Carisinyal team's experience, Ax-Lite Video Player seems to be particularly well-suited for touchscreen-based Windows devices.

It is important to note that this app has limited support for video formats, but popular formats like MP4 are already compatible with Ax-Lite Video Player.

Considering that the app is free, you will encounter lots of advertisements while playing media. If you are interested in trying Ax-Lite Video Player, you can download the app directly from the Microsoft Store.

This lightweight video player is an excellent choice for users that need a simple solution for playing a select range of video formats on their Windows devices.

9. Elmedia Player

Elmedia Player is an excellent video player app for MacBook users which offer many great features such as comprehensive playback options, an equalizer, video tuner, subtitle addition, and aspect ratio editing.

The free version of Elmedia Player provides a satisfactory range of features, despite lacking a converter feature like some of its competitors.

The PRO version, with a subscription fee about $19.99, grants access to additional features such as a video tuner for adjusting contrast and brightness, background video playback, and connectivity with Apple TV or Chromecast.

Elmedia Player also includes a built-in online video player feature for platforms like YouTube. Users simply need to copy and paste the video link into the dedicated online video player tab within the app.

10. IINA

IINA Video Player is a feature-packed alternative to QuickTime Player for MacBook users. It allows users to adjust various aspects of the video and audio being played, such as changing the aspect ratio, rotating the video, modifying the speed, removing video logos, and cropping the video.

This app also has feature of audio adjustments, including a customizable equalizer. In addition, IINA supports subtitle addition and offers a screenshot tool and picture-in-picture feature for background video playback. Best of all, IINA Video Player is available for free.

In summary, most of the video player apps listed above are compatible with both Windows and macOS platforms. All of them also offers a variety of features and advantages. Users can choose the best app that suits their needs and preferences.

On average, these apps can be downloaded for free, so it makes you easy to explore different video player options to find the perfect fit for your viewing experience.