Video players for Android that you can install

• We help you find the best video player that you can use on Android.

Although few remember it at this point, one of the reasons smartphones emerged was the need to consume multimedia more comfortably and, if possible, anywhere. This consumption is mainly based on video and music. In the latter case, we have already selected the best music players on Android, and now is the time to focus on audiovisual content.

Even though most manufacturers include native video players in their device software, many continue to find these apps outdated or lacking in extra functions that other third-party alternatives do offer. Therefore, today we create the list with our selection of the best Android video players.

Top best video players for Android

• VLC
• MX player
• mpv
• Kodi
• Plex
• Not going
• Andro4all’s choice

Our selection includes some of the best video players on PC, such as VLC or Kodi. Others, like MX Player, are only for mobile devices. However, that is not a disadvantage since they manage to stand up to the aforementioned players in a more than decent way, and in some cases, even improve them.

Now, we will see in detail the characteristics of each of the selected players and the link so that you can download them directly from Google Play for free.

VLC

We start with one of the most widespread players globally, made known mainly thanks to its desktop version for Windows and considered one of the best alternatives to Windows Media Player. Thanks to this, we can find a player that comes with all codecs and a large number of supported formats, which ensures that at no time will there be problems when playing any video.

It also has support for subtitles and advanced sound control options, as well as compatibility for Google Chromecast. Its navigation system allows us to explore the memory folders to find the files we need to play easily. Due to its open-source philosophy, it is a totally free application that anyone can download through Google Play.

MX player

The second of our selection is nothing more and nothing less than the most downloaded video player in the history of Google Play, with more than one hundred million installations. The main strength of MX Player is, as we saw in its in-depth analysis, the use of hardware and multicore decoding, improving performance by 70% compared to other competing players such as VLC itself, with which We already compared it to see which is the definitive video player for Android.

In addition, handling by gestures during playback is very comfortable and intuitive. It also has a parental control mode to prevent other applications from being used if the device is left to a child.

mpv

It is probably the most interesting alternative to VLC for those looking for an open-source player. Mpv is a multiplatform player with a minimalist design, which integrates support for the AV1 codec and the vast majority of video formats available today.

The application is completely multi-platform, so that it can be used on Windows and Mac. Its Android app includes, among other things, control through gestures, support for customizable subtitles, and playback of online content.

Kodi

Video playback on Android is a perfect complement to watch movies in the company, so Kodi, the natural successor to XBMC and one of the most popular multimedia centers, is one of the best platforms on Android to organize our entire movie collection.

Not only does it play videos, but this multimedia center also allows us to view photos, play podcasts and music. Its graphical interface is designed for use on tablets and devices such as Chromecast, making navigation intuitive. Your system is optimized for use in a living room and with remote control as an input device.

Plex

Despite being famous for its fantastic multimedia content management and organization system, Plex is an application that allows you to access and play our catalog of movies and videos directly from your mobile. To do this, yes, it is necessary to subscribe to the premium version. Otherwise, it can only broadcast the content to other devices, such as a TV with a Google Chromecast.

In addition to supporting a large number of video formats, Plex has subtitle support in SRT, PGS, SSA, or ASS format.

Not going

Lovers of open source software can also bet on Nova, the latest app in our selection of the best video players for Android, which stands out for its simplicity and ease of use, without neglecting versatility since it allows you to play content practically from any source –external storage media, SD memory, network addresses, etc.–, as well as an intelligent organization system that will show us information about those movies and series that we are going to reproduce.

The app is based on Archos Video Player, one of the most famous players. Still, its developer has decided to add extra functions that do not appear in the original tool, thus creating one of the complete video players for Android. And best of all, it is completely free.

Andro4all’s choice: VLC, the best video player available on Android

Although there are many options available on Google Play, and the difference in terms of functionalities and performance is less and less between the different video players available on Android, in the middle of 2021, VLC continues to be, for us, the most attractive option among all existing in its category.

The fact of being a completely free application, which receives frequent updates to introduce new features such as support for Google Chromecast, new details for its user interface, and support for an increasing number of video formats, make VLC the option more versatile when it comes to consuming video content from your mobile. That, not to mention the tricks that this application hides up its sleeve, such as the possibility of playing YouTube videos with the mobile screen off completely free of charge.