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App 11,560 installs/mo

VLC media player for Mac

Multimedia player

Quick answer: VLC media player is a media app for macOS. Install it with brew install --cask vlc. The licence is not declared in Homebrew metadata. It has 11,560 Homebrew installs in the last 30 days.

What VLC media player is

VLC media player is a media app for macOS: multimedia player.

It is distributed as a Homebrew cask, which installs a .app bundle into your Applications folder. Homebrew only automates the download and install step; the licence terms come from the vendor.

How to install VLC media player

  1. Open Terminal (press ⌘ + Space and type “Terminal”).
  2. If Homebrew is not installed yet, run the installer below once.
  3. Run brew install --cask vlc.

Homebrew installer, if you need it:

Prefer a graphical installer? Download it from the official site. MacPicks never hosts or mirrors binaries — the Homebrew command always pulls from the vendor's own release.

Alternatives to VLC media player

Compared within the same category and with a comparable install base, so the list stays useful rather than turning into a popularity chart.

IINAFree and open-source media playerApp7,161/mompvMedia player based on MPlayer and mplayer2CLIOpen source6,606/moDownieDownloads videos from different websitesApp392/moHandBrakeOpen-source video transcoderApp1,721/moLosslessCutTrims video and audio files losslesslyAppOpen source737/moffmpegPlay, record, convert, and stream select audio and video codecsCLIOpen source144,129/mo

Compare VLC media player with its alternatives in detail →

Frequently asked questions

How do I install VLC media player on Mac?

Run brew install --cask vlc in Terminal. This requires Homebrew; if you do not have it, install it first with the command below.

Is VLC media player open source?

Homebrew's metadata does not declare a licence for this app, so the official site is the authoritative source.

Does VLC media player run on Apple silicon?

Yes, as a universal binary.

How popular is VLC media player?

It was installed 11,560 times in the last 30 days according to Homebrew analytics, ranking #172 in this catalogue.

What version of VLC media player is current?

The latest packaged version is 3.0.24.