Let’s have a look into the list of some of the amazing and free Video Players for Linux based operating systems in 2025. Thanks to the developers as there are plenty of open source software available these days.
Without any explanations, Let’s have a look into the 15+ free and open source Video players for Linux based operating system in 2025.
7+ Free and Open Source Video Players for Linux in 2025
1. VLC
VLC Player is one of the most popular used video players in Linux. One of the most robust media players, VLC is compatible with many operating systems, including but not limited to Linux, Windows, Solaris, Android, iOS, Syllable, and others. It is published under the GNU GPLv2+ and GNU LGPLv2.1+ licenses and was written in C, C++, and Objective C. It supports almost all formats of video and the music. VLC player is widely used video players with advanced set of features.
Video Format Supported By VLC:
- MPEG-1/2, DivX® (1/2/3/4/5/6), MPEG-4 ASP, XviD, 3ivX D4, H.261, H.263 / H.263i, H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, Cinepak, Theora, Dirac / VC-2, MJPEG (A/B), WMV 1/2, WMV 3 / WMV-9 / VC-1, Sorenson 1/3, DV, On2 VP3/VP5/VP6, Indeo Video v3 (IV32), Real Video (1/2/3/4).
Audio Format Supported By VLC:
- MPEG Layer 1/2, MP3 – MPEG Layer 3, AAC – MPEG-4 part3, Vorbis, AC3 – A/52, E-AC-3, MLP / TrueHD>3, DTS, WMA 1/2, WMA 3, FLAC, ALAC, Speex, Musepack / MPC, ATRAC 3, Wavpack, Mod, TrueAudio, APE, Real Audio, Alaw/µlaw, AMR (3GPP), MIDI, LPCM, ADPCM, QCELP, DV Audio, QDM2/QDMC, MACE.
How To Install VLC in Ubuntu, Debian & Linux Mint
Run the following commands to install VLC in Ubuntu, Debian or Linux Mint based operating systems.
sudo apt install vlc -y
OR using snap, run the following command:
sudo snap install vlc
How To Install VLC in Fedora
To install VLC on Fedora, you have to enable the RPM Fusion repositories (free and non-free repositories) as shown.
dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf update dnf install vlc
How To Install VLC in RHEL Systems
Run the following commands according to the version of RHEL to install VLC on RHEL-based distributions such as CentOS, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux.
Note: you need to enable the EPEL and RPM Fusion repositories as shown.
On RHEL 9 Systems # yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm # yum install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-9.noarch.rpm # yum install vlc
On RHEL 8 Systems # yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm # yum install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-8.noarch.rpm # yum install vlc
On RHEL 7 Systems subscription-manager repos --enable "rhel-*-optional-rpms" --enable "rhel-*-extras-rpms" # Only needed for RHEL yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm yum install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-7.noarch.rpm yum install vlc
2. SMPlayer – Free Media Player
SMPlayer is another popular free media player that is written entirely in C++ with the Qt framework. SMPlayer is another cross-platform media player and a graphical user interface for programs like Mplayer and its derivatives. It is released under the GNU General Public License and is only compatible with Windows and Linux OS. It is available in several languages.
How To Install SMPlayer in Ubuntu, Debian & Linux Mint
Run the following commands to install SMPlayer if you are using Ubuntu, Debian or Linux Mint.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install smplayer smplayer-themes smplayer-skins
How To Install SMPlayer in Fedora
Run the following commands to install SMPlayer in Fedora Linux.
dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install smplayer
3. MPV Player
MPV player is a multi-lingual cross-platform media player that is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Written in C and released under the GNU General Public License, it is a command-line media player.
How To Install MPV Player in Ubuntu, Debian & Linux Mint
Run the following commands to install MPV Player in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian based distros.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/mpv-tests sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install -y mpv
How To Install MPV Player in Fedora
Run the following commands to install MPV Player in Fedora.
dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install mpv
4 . XBMC – Kodi Media Center
Kodi Media Center is a cross-platform player, which was formerly known as Xbox Media Center (XBMC). It is available in more than 69 languages and is licensed under the GNU General Public License. It is written with C++ as a core with Python scripts. As you can figure out the work that Kodi Media Center can do from it’s name itself .It act as an amazing media center. Kodi allows you to watch and record live TV all from an easy to use interface. It works with a number of popular backends including MediaPortal, MythTV, NextPVR, Tvheadend and many more. You can also play games on Kodi.
Install Kodi in Ubuntu, Linux Mint & Linux Mint
Run the following commands to install Kodi Media Center in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian based distros.
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install kodi
Install Kodi in Fedora
Run the following commands to install Kodi Media center in Fedora based distros.
dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm dnf install kodi
6. Gnome Videos
Gnome Videos is the default media player for Gnome-based desktop environments. It developed in C and uses GTK+ and clutter libraries.
How To Install Gnome Videos in Linux
Run the following commands according to your Linux distros to install Gnome videos
sudo apt install totem [For Debian, Ubuntu and Mint] sudo yum install totem [For RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Rocky/AlmaLinux] sudo emerge -a sys-apps/totem [For Gentoo Linux] sudo apk add totem [For Alpine Linux] sudo pacman -S totem [For Arch Linux] sudo zypper install totem [For OpenSUSE]
7 Deepin Movie
Deepin Movie is a open-source media player developed for the Deepin Desktop Environment.
How To Install Deepin Movie in Linux
Run the following commands according to your Linux distros to install Deepin Movie player
sudo apt install deepin-movie [For Debian, Ubuntu and Mint] sudo yum install deepin-movie [For RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Rocky/AlmaLinux] sudo emerge -a sys-apps/deepin-movie [For Gentoo Linux] sudo apk add deepin-movie [For Alpine Linux] sudo pacman -S deepin-movie [For Arch Linux] sudo zypper install deepin-movie [For OpenSUSE]
8. Kaffeine Media Player
Kaffeine is a free and open-source media player for Linux. Kaffeine is based on the Qt framework that uses the GStreamer multimedia framework for decoding media files.
Install Kaffeine Media Player in Linux
Run the following command to install Kaffeine Media Player
For Ubuntu, Debian and Mint sudo apt install kaffeine For RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Rocky/AlmaLinux sudo yum install kaffeine For Gentoo Linux sudo emerge -a sys-apps/kaffeine For Alpine Linux sudo apk add kaffeine For Arch Linux sudo pacman -S kaffeine For OpenSUSE sudo zypper install kaffeine
