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Watching locally stored video on your device can be a chore. There are a ton of codecs out there and not every video player can play every one of them. You wouldn’t be the first experience a dreaded “codec not supported” error. Thus, it may become required to pick up another one in order to play all of your videos. Thankfully, there are a ton of really good ones out there so let’s check out the best video player apps for Android!
[font=Lato, sans-serif]AC3 Player[/font]
[Price: Free]
The AC3 codec is a common headache for Android users, so why not get a video player that supports that natively? AC3 Player is a fairly simple video player app that allows users to play the tricky codec without any additional plugins or downloads. It boasts under-the-hood optimizations to help improve overall performance, frame rate, and more. It also supports a bunch of other video codecs, and many audio codecs as well. There is also subtitle support, playback speed control, and a sleep timer if you need those. It’s one of the easier, simpler video player apps out there.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]AllCast[/font]
[Price: Free / $4.99]
AllCast is a video player that specializes in sending your locally stored content to your Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, Xbox 360/One, and other DLNA compliant devices. Along with videos, it also supports other types of media. It has a bit of a rough start, but has quickly become one of the most stable casting apps out there. The free version has a five minute limit for content while the pro version has no limitations. You can also turn your Android device into an AllCast receiver (capable of being casted to) with the AllCast Receiver app
[font=Lato, sans-serif]BSPlayer[/font]
[Price: Free / $5.80]
BSPlayer has been around for a longer than most video player apps and has continued to be one of the best in all that time. It features multi-core hardware decoding, hardware accelerated playback, and support for streaming from network (DLNA) devices. On top of that, there is subtitle support, the ability to play files from compressed formats, and you can even have a pop-up window if you want to. The free version is ad-supported, but has all of the features. There are also additional plugins for even better support. If you want to get the full version, you can find that here.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]Kodi[/font]
[Price: Free]
Kodi (formerly XBMC) is a media center application that allows you to view your various video and audio files quickly. The interface is beautiful, but it’s also designed for larger screens like tablets and Android TV devices so it may not be great on your phone. As a media player, it works as expected, although you may need to find something more powerful if you use unique codecs. It’s completely free which is always nice and has no advertising. Kodi is a great option for anyone with a bigger screen and they really want to see it work for them.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]LocalCast[/font]
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
LocalCast is a competitor to AllCast and they perform a lot of the same functions. That includes streaming media from your device to a Chromecast, Xbox 360/One, Roku, Fire Stick, or Apple TV. Along with AllCast, it allows for streaming from cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox), and it should work on most DLNA compliant devices. This one is limited in its codec support to whatever the Chromecast can support so it likely won’t fix those woes if you have them. Even so, it’s one of only a few respectable video player apps that perform this function.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]MoboPlayer[/font]
[Price: Free / $4.99]
MoboPlayer is another one of those video player apps that has seemingly been around since dinosaurs roamed the planet. Therefore, it’s had plenty of time to iterate and improve over time. It claims to support all video formats (you may need to switch from hardware to software decoding sometimes) which is great news. It also support subtitles, playlists, continuous playback, and you can stream video through HTTP and RTSP protocols if you want to. There are additional plugins you can add to increase functionality, but it’s an overall solid offering.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]MX Player[/font]
[Price: Free / $5.99]
MX Player has long been the king of video player apps. It supported more formats long before other video player apps thought to do so and was also among the first to include things like hardware decoding, hardware accelerated playback, and other such features. It still has all of those things along with gesture controls (including pinch-to-zoom), subtitle support, a kids lock to keep your kids in the app watching their Disney movies, and it supports virtually every codec out there. Like MoboPlayer, it comes with additional plugins to add more functionality if you need them.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]Plex[/font]
[Price: Free / $4.99 per month / $4.99]
Plex is currently the best answer to the question of what to do if you have a lot of videos and only 32GB of storage on your phone. Plex allows you to set up a server on your computer and then it will stream content from your computer to your smartphone. It’s a bit unique from other video player apps, but it also doesn’t require you to keep your files on your device. It’s true that this technically counts as video streaming, but it is your content and it’s locked to your devices. The service is free to set up, the mobile app costs $4.99, and you can get an optional $4.99 per month subscription to unlock all of the Plex Pass features.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]VLC[/font]
[Price: Free]
VLC has quickly made a name for itself as one of the must-have video player apps. It has a a slew of unique features, including the ability to stream videos if you have the URL. It can also play some obscure video formats, like DVD ISOs. Unlike most, it also has all of its codecs built-in without the need for additional plugin downloads. Other features include subtitle support, full media support (including audio), multi-track audio, and more. If you want to see the next features before they come out, you can try out VLC beta! Both apps are completely free as well.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]Wondershare Player[/font]
[Price: Free]
Last up is Wondershare Player which has some fairly unique features compared to other video player apps. This one not only plays your locally stored videos, but also provides a hub for video streaming. You can see videos on sites like YouTube, Vevo, TED, ESPN, and even Hulu (US only). It boasts support for all common video codecs as well as audio files. It also supports video streaming via the link the same way that VLC does. It’s surprisingly powerful and it has additional features if you happen to use the Wondershare desktop app as well.
10 best video player apps for Android - Android Authority
[font=Lato, sans-serif]AC3 Player[/font]
[Price: Free]
The AC3 codec is a common headache for Android users, so why not get a video player that supports that natively? AC3 Player is a fairly simple video player app that allows users to play the tricky codec without any additional plugins or downloads. It boasts under-the-hood optimizations to help improve overall performance, frame rate, and more. It also supports a bunch of other video codecs, and many audio codecs as well. There is also subtitle support, playback speed control, and a sleep timer if you need those. It’s one of the easier, simpler video player apps out there.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]AllCast[/font]
[Price: Free / $4.99]
AllCast is a video player that specializes in sending your locally stored content to your Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, Xbox 360/One, and other DLNA compliant devices. Along with videos, it also supports other types of media. It has a bit of a rough start, but has quickly become one of the most stable casting apps out there. The free version has a five minute limit for content while the pro version has no limitations. You can also turn your Android device into an AllCast receiver (capable of being casted to) with the AllCast Receiver app
[font=Lato, sans-serif]BSPlayer[/font]
[Price: Free / $5.80]
BSPlayer has been around for a longer than most video player apps and has continued to be one of the best in all that time. It features multi-core hardware decoding, hardware accelerated playback, and support for streaming from network (DLNA) devices. On top of that, there is subtitle support, the ability to play files from compressed formats, and you can even have a pop-up window if you want to. The free version is ad-supported, but has all of the features. There are also additional plugins for even better support. If you want to get the full version, you can find that here.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]Kodi[/font]
[Price: Free]
Kodi (formerly XBMC) is a media center application that allows you to view your various video and audio files quickly. The interface is beautiful, but it’s also designed for larger screens like tablets and Android TV devices so it may not be great on your phone. As a media player, it works as expected, although you may need to find something more powerful if you use unique codecs. It’s completely free which is always nice and has no advertising. Kodi is a great option for anyone with a bigger screen and they really want to see it work for them.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]LocalCast[/font]
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
LocalCast is a competitor to AllCast and they perform a lot of the same functions. That includes streaming media from your device to a Chromecast, Xbox 360/One, Roku, Fire Stick, or Apple TV. Along with AllCast, it allows for streaming from cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox), and it should work on most DLNA compliant devices. This one is limited in its codec support to whatever the Chromecast can support so it likely won’t fix those woes if you have them. Even so, it’s one of only a few respectable video player apps that perform this function.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]MoboPlayer[/font]
[Price: Free / $4.99]
MoboPlayer is another one of those video player apps that has seemingly been around since dinosaurs roamed the planet. Therefore, it’s had plenty of time to iterate and improve over time. It claims to support all video formats (you may need to switch from hardware to software decoding sometimes) which is great news. It also support subtitles, playlists, continuous playback, and you can stream video through HTTP and RTSP protocols if you want to. There are additional plugins you can add to increase functionality, but it’s an overall solid offering.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]MX Player[/font]
[Price: Free / $5.99]
MX Player has long been the king of video player apps. It supported more formats long before other video player apps thought to do so and was also among the first to include things like hardware decoding, hardware accelerated playback, and other such features. It still has all of those things along with gesture controls (including pinch-to-zoom), subtitle support, a kids lock to keep your kids in the app watching their Disney movies, and it supports virtually every codec out there. Like MoboPlayer, it comes with additional plugins to add more functionality if you need them.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]Plex[/font]
[Price: Free / $4.99 per month / $4.99]
Plex is currently the best answer to the question of what to do if you have a lot of videos and only 32GB of storage on your phone. Plex allows you to set up a server on your computer and then it will stream content from your computer to your smartphone. It’s a bit unique from other video player apps, but it also doesn’t require you to keep your files on your device. It’s true that this technically counts as video streaming, but it is your content and it’s locked to your devices. The service is free to set up, the mobile app costs $4.99, and you can get an optional $4.99 per month subscription to unlock all of the Plex Pass features.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]VLC[/font]
[Price: Free]
VLC has quickly made a name for itself as one of the must-have video player apps. It has a a slew of unique features, including the ability to stream videos if you have the URL. It can also play some obscure video formats, like DVD ISOs. Unlike most, it also has all of its codecs built-in without the need for additional plugin downloads. Other features include subtitle support, full media support (including audio), multi-track audio, and more. If you want to see the next features before they come out, you can try out VLC beta! Both apps are completely free as well.
[font=Lato, sans-serif]Wondershare Player[/font]
[Price: Free]
Last up is Wondershare Player which has some fairly unique features compared to other video player apps. This one not only plays your locally stored videos, but also provides a hub for video streaming. You can see videos on sites like YouTube, Vevo, TED, ESPN, and even Hulu (US only). It boasts support for all common video codecs as well as audio files. It also supports video streaming via the link the same way that VLC does. It’s surprisingly powerful and it has additional features if you happen to use the Wondershare desktop app as well.
10 best video player apps for Android - Android Authority
