mpv alternatives for Mac
mpv — Media player based on MPlayer and mplayer2 — is installed 6,606 times a month through Homebrew. These are hand-picked alternatives that occupy the same slot, ordered by how comparable their user base is.
Run
brew install mpv to install mpv itself.- IINA7,161 installs/mo
- VLC media player11,560 installs/mo
- Downie16.9× smaller user base
- HandBrake3.8× smaller user base
- LosslessCut9.0× smaller user base
- ffmpeg21.8× the installs
- Permute66.7× smaller user base
- Audacity3,551 installs/mo
Full comparison
| mpv | IINA | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | CLI tool | GUI app |
| Category | Video & Audio | Video & Audio |
| Open source | Yes | Not declared |
| Licence | GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.1-or-later | Not declared |
| Apple silicon | All Macs (binary package) | Universal |
| Latest version | 0.41.0 | 1.5.0 |
| Dependencies | 16 | 0 |
| Installs (30 days) | 6,606 | 7,161 |
| Install command | brew install mpv | brew install --cask iina |
How we picked these
The list comes from a hand-maintained set of same-purpose apps, not from keyword matching. Alternatives are removed automatically when Homebrew no longer carries them. Ordering reflects 30-day install volume, not paid placement. Data updated 2026-10-26.