Comparison of audio player software

This article is about audio player software. For a comparison of video player software, see Comparison of video player software.

For a comparison of hardware device type portable media players, see Comparison of portable media players.

The following comparison of audio players compares general and technical information for a number of software media player programs.

For the purpose of this comparison, "video players" are defined as any media player which can play video, even if it can also play audio files. "Audio players" are defined as media players which can only play audio files.

General

Name	Author	First public release date	Stable version	Cost	Software license	Based Framework	Written in
1by1	Martin Pesch	13 December 2006	1.68 (26 June 2009)	Free	Proprietary
AIMP	Artem Izmaylov	8 August 2006	2.51.330(30 December 2008)	Free	Proprietary
AIlMyMusic	Erwin Kryszat	1 January 2008	1.3.10 (11 October 2008)	Non-free20 CHF	Proprietary
AlbumPlayer	Albumon	2003	4.9d	Non-free€29.90	Proprietary
ALLPlayer	Allplayer ltd	1998	3.7 (24 December 2008)	Free	Proprietary
Alpha2Player	Joachim Saubers	2008	2.3.4 (19 January 2009)	Free	Proprietary
ALSong	ALTools	?	1.52	Free	Proprietary
Amarok	Mark Kretschmann	June 2003	2.9.71 (January 31, 2021 (2021-01-31)) [±]	Free	GPL	via Phonon: GStreamer, xine, DirectShow, QuickTime	C++
AV Music Morpher	AVnex Ltd.	2002	4.0.77 (Jul 2009)	Non-free	Proprietary		C++
Aqualung	Tom Szilagyi et al.	2 September 2004	0.9beta10 (8 February 2009)	Free	GPL	FFmpeg, LADSPA	C
aTunes	Alex Aranda et al.	2006	3.1.2 (June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22)) [±]	Free	GPL		Java
Audacious	Audacious Team	30 October 2005	Template:Latest stable software release/Audacious Media Player	Free	GPL		C, C++
Audion	Panic	16 August 1999	3.0.2 (2002)	Free	Proprietary
Banshee	Aaron Bockover	August 2005	2.6.2 (February 18, 2014 (2014-02-18)) [±]	Free	MIT	GStreamer	C#
BOSSA Basic	Swami Systems	December 2006	2.0	Free	Proprietary
BOSSA Pro	Swami Systems	December 2006	2.0	Non-freeUSD$24.00	Proprietary
Beep Media Player	Milosz Derezynski	24 June 2004	Template:Latest stable software release/Beep Media Player	Free	GPL		C
Billy	Sanne Schaap	20 June 2004	1.03	Free	Proprietary
Cactus Jukebox	Sebastian Kraft	2 March 2005	0.3.8	Free	GPL
CDPlayer	Microsoft	November 1992	4.00.950	Free	Proprietary
cmus	Timo Hirvonen	18 January 2005	2.10.0 (July 5, 2022 (2022-07-05)) [±]	Free	GPL		C
Cog	Vincent Spader	1 May 2006	0.07 (December 24, 2007 (2007-12-24)) [±]	Free	GPL		Objective-C
Creative MediaSource	Creative Technology	2002	5.10.38	Non-freeBundled (Requires Creative product)	Proprietary
damp	Matt Craven	1999	0.96 (9 April 2000)	Free	Proprietary
Decibel Audio Player	François Ingelrest	13 May 2007	1.00	Free	GPL		Python
DeliPlayer Basic	Peter Kunath, Florian Vorberger	2000	2.03b (4 April 2004)	Free	Proprietary
DeliPlayer Pro	Peter Kunath, Florian Vorberger	2000	2.03b (4 April 2004)	Non-freeUSD$20.00	Proprietary
Exaile	Adam Olsen	24 May 2006		Free	GPL	GStreamer	Python
Express Scribe	NCH Software	17 July 1997	4.11 (April 2007)	Free	Proprietary		Python
Flash MP3 Player	Reality Software	11 March 2008	1.00	Free	Proprietary
foobar2000	Peter Pawlowski	December 2002	2.1.5  (4 May 2024) [±]	Free	Proprietary (core), BSD (first-party components)
Goggles Music Manager	Sander Jansen	March 2005	0.10.7	Free	GPL
Helium Music Manager 2009	Intermedia Design	2009	2009.0.0.6930 (5 August 2009)	Non-freeUSD$49.00	Proprietary
Herrie	Ed Schouten	2006	2.2 (14 March 2008)	Free	BSD		C
Jajuk	Jajuk Team	March 2004	1.7 (march 2009)	Free	GPL
JuK	Scott Wheeler	February 2003	3.11 (February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04)) [±]	Free	GPL
KSP Sound Player	KSP Developer Team	September 2009	Template:Latest stable software release/KSP	Free	BSD
Listen	Mehdi Abaakouk	4 March 2006	0.6	Free	GPL
Media Jukebox	J. River	1998	14.0.046 (7 August 2009)	Non-freeUSD$40.00	Proprietary
MediaMonkey Standard	Ventis Media Inc.	25 August 2003	5.0.4.2690 (November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23)) [±]	Free	Proprietary
MediaMonkey Gold	Ventis Media Inc.	25 August 2003	5.0.4.2690 (November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23)) [±]	Non-freeUSD$19.95	Proprietary
MediaMonkey Lifetime	Ventis Media Inc.	25 August 2003	5.0.4.2690 (November 23, 2022 (2022-11-23)) [±]	Non-freeUSD$29.95	Proprietary
Mesk	Travis Shirk	27 May 2006	0.3.2	Free	GPL	GStreamer
MP3Toys	Robert Frahm	April 2004	2.2	Non-free$14.95	Proprietary
MPXPLAY	MPXPLAY	1998	1.56beta (26 May 2008), 1.55 (2007)	Free	GPL
Music Player Daemon	Warren Dukes	May 2003	0.21.22 (April 2, 2020 (2020-04-02)) [±]	Free	GPL
Musicmatch Jukebox Basic	Yahoo!	May 1998	Template:Latest stable software release/Y! Music Musicmatch Jukebox	Free	Proprietary
Musicmatch Jukebox Plus	Yahoo!	May 1998	Template:Latest stable software release/Y! Music Musicmatch Jukebox	Non-freeUSD$19.99	Proprietary
MusicBee	Steven Mayall	04 Dec 2008	1.1.3544 / 14 Sep 2009	Free	Proprietary	BASS Audio Library	.NET
musikCube	Casey Langen	2005	3.0.2  (11 September 2023) [±]	Free	BSD
Muzikbrowzer	Pecan Ventures	2003	1.0	Non-freeUSD$20.00	Proprietary	DirectShow
Napster	William Christopher Gorog	October 2003	4.0.4.8	Non-freeUSD$9.95+	Proprietary
Neformal	Peter Semiletov	7 May 2009	3.0.1	Free	GPL
Quod Libet	Joe Wreschnig	?	4.5.0 wikidata:Q1621193 (March 2022 (2022-03)) [±]	Free	GPL	GStreamer
QuickPlayer	Jan Vorel	July 2006	Template:Latest stable software release/QuickPlayer	Free	GPL	DirectShow
QuuxPlayer	Quux Software	June 2008	2.6.1	Free	Proprietary
Rhapsody	RealNetworks	2003	14.0 (16 October 2006) [±]	Free	Proprietary
Rhythmbox	Colin Walters	April 2004	3.4.4 (January 4, 2020 (2020-01-04)) [±]	Free	GPL	GStreamer	C
SnackAmp	Tom Wilkason	January 2002	Template:Latest stable software release/SnackAmp	Free	GPL		Tcl / Tk
Sonique	Media Science	November 1998	1.96 (March 2002)	Free	Proprietary
Spider Player Basic	Vitaly Kravchenko	April 2006	2.3.5	Free	Proprietary
Spider Player Pro	Vitaly Kravchenko	April 2006	2.3.5	Non-freeUSD$19.95	Proprietary
UADE	Heikki Orsila		2.12 (28 August 2008)	Free	GPL
VUPlayer	James Chapman	2000	2.42	Free	Proprietary
XMMS	XMMS Team	November 1997	1.2.11 (November 16, 2007 (2007-11-16)) [±]	Free	GPL	original	C
XMPlay	Ian Luck	July 1998	Template:Latest stable software release/XMPlay	Free	Proprietary
Yahoo! Music Jukebox Basic	Yahoo!	2005	Template:Latest stable software release/Yahoo! Music Jukebox	Free	Proprietary
Yahoo! Music Jukebox Plus	Yahoo!	2005	Template:Latest stable software release/Yahoo! Music Jukebox	Non-freeUSD$19.99	Proprietary
Zinf	Zinf Team	April 2002	2.2.5 (February 17, 2004 (2004-02-17)) [±]	Free	GPL
Name	Author	First public release date	Stable version	Cost	Software license	Based Framework	Written in

Operating system requirement

This section lists the operating systems on which the player works. There may be multiple versions a player, each one for a particular operating system.

Audio player	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD Unix	Solaris	Other Unix	DOS (FreeDOS, Dr-DOS)
1by1	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
AIMP	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
AllMyMusic	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Albumplayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Alpha2Player	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
ALSong	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
AV Music Morpher	ME/NT/2000/XP/VISTA(32 bit)	No	No	No	No	No	No
Amarok	Not yet officially	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Aqualung	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	No
aTunes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Audacious	Yes	Yes(via GTK+ Quartz)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Audion	No	PPC native	No	No	No	No	No
Banshee	Partial	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	No
BOSSA	2000/XP/Vista only	No	No	No	No	No	No
cmus	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Cog	No	10.4+	No	No	No	No	No
damp	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Decibel Audio Player	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
DeliPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Exaile	Not yet officially	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Express Scribe	98 to Vista	OS 10.1+ wav, mp3, aiff, dct formats only	Yes	No	No	No	No
foobar2000	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Goggles Music Manager	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Herrie	cygwin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Jajuk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
JuK	Not yet officially	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
KSP Sound Player	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Listen	No	No	Yes	?	?	No	No
Media Jukebox	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
MediaMonkey	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mesk	No	No	Yes	?	?	?	No
MP3Toys	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
MPXPLAY	9x/ME only	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Music Player Daemon	cygwin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
MusicBee	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
musikCube	2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista only	No	No	No	No	No	No
Muzikbrowzer	2000/XP/Server 2003 only	No	No	No	No	No	No
Quod Libet	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
QuickPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
QuuxPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Rhapsody	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Rhythmbox	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
SnackAmp	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Songbird	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Sonique	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
VUPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
XMMS	No	Yes (via X11 layer)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
XMPlay	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zinf	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Audio player	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD Unix	Solaris	Other Unix	DOS (FreeDOS, Dr-DOS)

Features

Audio player	Video playback	Outbound streaming	Skinnable	Media Database	Gapless Audio Decoding	Visualizer	Remote Controllable	Intelligent Playlists from database (based on criteria)
1by1	No	No	Partial	No	Yes	No	No	?
AIMP	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
AllMyMusic	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
AlbumPlayer	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Yes
Alpha2Player	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
ALSong	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Partial	No
Amarok	Partial	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Aqualung	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?
Audacious	Partial	No	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	No
Audion	No	No	Yes	No	?	Yes	?	No
Banshee	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	?	In Development	Yes	Yes
cmus	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Cog	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
damp	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
DeliPlayer	No	No	Yes	No	?	No	?	No
Exaile	No	?	Yes	Partial	No	Yes	No	Yes
foobar2000	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes
Goggles Music Manager	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Herrie	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Jajuk	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
JuK	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	?
KSP Sound Player	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Listen	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
Media Jukebox	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaMonkey	Partial	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes
Mesk	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
MPXPLAY	Only sound output	?	text-interface	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (also LCD capability)	?
Music Player Daemon	No	Yes	Client dependant	Yes	Yes	Client dependant	Yes	Client dependant
Musicmatch Jukebox	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?
MusicBee	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
musikCube	No	No	No	Yes	No	Partial	?	Yes
Muzikbrowzer	No	No	Partial	Yes	No	No	Yes	?
Quod Libet	No	Yes	No	Yes	?	No	?	Yes
QuickPlayer	No	No	No	No	?	No	?	No
QuuxPlayer	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rhapsody	No	No	No	Yes	?	No	?	?
Rhythmbox	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SnackAmp	No	Yes	No	Yes	?	No	?	?
Songbird	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Sonique	Partial	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	?	No
VUPlayer	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	No
XMMS	Partial	Partial	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	No
XMPlay	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?
Zinf	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	No	?	?
Audio player	Video playback	Outbound streaming	Skinnable	Media Database	Gapless Audio Decoding	Visualizer	Remote Controllable	Intelligent Playlists from database (based on criteria)

Audio player	Replay Gain	Mass Tagging	Flexible tagging	Time Stretching	Pitch Shifting	A-B Repeat	Bookmark	Auto Resume	Shutdown on play complete	Archive capability
1by1	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
AIMP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
AllMyMusic	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AlbumPlayer	Yes	No	?	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	?
Alpha2Player	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ALSong	?	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
Amarok	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Aqualung	Yes	Yes	Partial	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
Audacious	Yes	?	No	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?
Audion	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Banshee	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	Yes	?	?	?
cmus	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cog	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
damp	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
DeliPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Exaile	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	Partial	No	No
foobar2000	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Partial	?	Partial	Yes	Partial	Yes
Goggles Music Manager	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?
Jajuk	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?
JuK	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
KSP Sound Player	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Listen	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Jukebox	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	?
MediaMonkey	Yes	Yes	?	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Yes	?
Mesk	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPXPLAY	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	Partial	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?
MusicBee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?
musikCube	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Muzikbrowzer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quod Libet	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
QuickPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuuxPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Rhapsody	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
SnackAmp	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Songbird	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sonique	No	No	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	?
VUPlayer	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
XMMS	Partial	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
XMPlay	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	?	Partial	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	?
Zinf	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	No	?
Audio player	Replay Gain	Mass Tagging	Flexible tagging	Time Stretching	Pitch Shifting	A-B Repeat	Bookmark	Auto Resume	Shutdown on play complete	Archive capability

Audio format capability

Information about what audio formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about capabilities of future versions of the players or plugins/filters that provide such functionality.

Audio player	MP3	WMA	RealAudio	Vorbis	Musepack	AAC	AC3	APE	FLAC	ALAC	SHN	WV
1by1	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AIMP	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
AllMyMusic	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
AlbumPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Alpha2Player	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Amarok	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Aqualung	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Audacious	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Audion	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Banshee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cog	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
cmus	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
DeliPlayer	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Exaile	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
foobar2000	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes
Goggles Music Manager	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Jajuk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
JuK	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
KSP Sound Player	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Listen	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Media Jukebox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaMonkey	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Partial	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Partial
Mesk	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MP3Toys	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MPXPLAY	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Music Player Daemon	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	No	No	No
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
musicBee	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
musikCube	Yes	Partial	No	Yes	Partial	Partial	Partial	Yes	Yes	No	No	Partial
Muzikbrowzer	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	No	No	Partial
Quod Libet	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
QuickPlayer	Yes	Partial	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Rhapsody	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Rhythmbox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SnackAmp	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Songbird	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	Yes	?	No	Yes	?	?	?
Sonique	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Partial	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No
VUPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
XBMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
XMMS	Yes	Partial	Partial	Partial	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	No	Partial	Yes
XMPlay	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial	Partial
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zinf	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Audio player	MP3	WMA	RealAudio	Vorbis	Musepack	AAC	AC3	APE	FLAC	ALAC	SHN	WV

Container format capability

Information about what container formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about capabilities of future versions of the players or filters that provide such functionality.

Audio player	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	Ogg	OGM	Matroska	MP4	MPEG-21	NUT	FLV
1by1	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Amarok	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Basic	Basic	Yes	?	?	?
Aqualung	No	No	No	Yes	?	No	?	?	?	?
Audacious	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?
Audion	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
cmus	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	AAC only	?	?	?
Cog	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?
DeliPlayer	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
foobar2000	Partial	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Jajuk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
JuK	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
KSP Sound Player	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	AAC only	?	?	?
Listen	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Media Jukebox	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
MediaMonkey	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
Mesk	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
MPXPLAY	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
musikCube	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
Quod Libet	No	No	No	?	No	No	Yes	?	?	?
QuickPlayer	No	No	No	?	No	No	No	?	?	?
Rhapsody	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	Yes	?	?	?
Songbird	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	?	?	?
Sonique	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?
VUPlayer	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
XMMS	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
XMPlay	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	AAC only	?	?	?
Zinf	No	No	No	Vorbis only	No	No	No	?	?	?
Audio player	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	Ogg	OGM	Matroska	MP4	MPEG-21	NUT	FLV

Scalable, composite and emulation format capabilities

Audio player	Flash	RealPix	QuickTime Video Effects in mov	HTML+TIME(+VML)	Silverlight	smil/smi	SVG	MIDI(smf)	MIDI(kar)	MIDI(xmf)	MIDI(rmi)	MIDI(xmi)	NSF	SPC	PSF
1by1	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Amarok	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Aqualung	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Audacious	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Audion	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
cmus	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cog	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
DeliPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
foobar2000	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Template:Yes (yellow) (plugin)	Template:Yes (yellow) (plugin)	Template:Yes (yellow) (plugin)
Jajuk	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
JuK	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
KSP Sound Player	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Listen	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Jukebox	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MediaMonkey	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Template:Yes (yellow) (winamp plugin)	Template:Yes (yellow) (winamp plugin)	Template:Yes (yellow) (winamp plugin)
Mesk	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPXPLAY	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
musikCube	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quod Libet	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rhapsody	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Songbird	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sonique	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
VUPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XMMS	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XMPlay	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Zinf	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Audio player	Flash	RealPix	QuickTime Video Effects in mov	HTML+TIME(+VML)	Silverlight	smil/smi	SVG	MIDI(smf)	MIDI(kar)	MIDI(xmf)	MIDI(rmi)	MIDI(xmi)	NSF	SPC	PSF

Protocol capabilities

Information about which internet protocols the players understand, for receiving streaming media content. Footnotes lead to information about capabilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such functionality.

General

Audio player	HTTP	RTSP (RTSPU, RTSPT)	MMS (MMSU, MMST)	Podcasting	Other
1by1	No	No	No	No	?
AIMP	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
Alpha2Player	Yes	No	?	No	ICY
Amarok	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	upnp, daap
Aqualung	Yes	?	?	Yes	?
Audacious Media Player	Yes	Yes	No	No	?
Audion	Yes	No	No	No	?
Banshee	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?
cmus	Yes	No	No	No	?
Cog	No	No	No	No	?
DeliPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	?
foobar2000	Yes	No	No	Partial	?
Jajuk	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?
JuK	?	?	?	?	?
KSP Sound Player	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?
Listen	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?
Media Jukebox	Yes	?	?	Yes	?
MediaMonkey	Yes	No	No	Yes	?
Mesk	Yes	No	No	No	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	?	?	?	?
MusicBee	Yes	?	?	Yes	?
musikCube	Yes	No	No	?	?
QuickPlayer	No	No	No	No	?
Rhapsody	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Rhythmbox	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	upnp, daap
SnackAmp	Yes	No	No	Yes	?
Songbird	Yes	?	No	Yes	?
Sonique	Yes	?	?	?	?
Spider Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
VUPlayer	Yes	?	?	?	?
XMMS	Yes	?	?	?	?
XMPlay	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	Yes	?	?	?	?
Zinf	Yes	Yes	No	No	?
Audio player	HTTP	RTSP (RTSPU, RTSPT)	MMS (MMSU, MMST)	Podcasting	Other

Other

Audio player	DAAP	DMAP	DPAP	EsounD protocol	PulseAudio Simple protocol	PulseAudio Native protocol	DLNA
1by1	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
AIMP	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Amarok	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
Aqualung	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
Audacious Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Audion	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Banshee	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
cmus	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cog	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
DeliPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
foobar2000	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Jajuk	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
JuK	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
KSP Sound Player	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Listen	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Jukebox	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MediaMonkey	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mesk	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
musikCube	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rhapsody	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
SnackAmp	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Songbird	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sonique	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Spider Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
VUPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XMMS	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XMPlay	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Zinf	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Audio player	DAAP	DMAP	DPAP	EsounD protocol	PulseAudio Simple protocol	PulseAudio Native protocol	DLNA

Playlist format capability

Information about which playlist formats the players understand.

Audio player	asx/wax/wvx	m3u8	pls	xspf
1by1	?	?	?	?
Alpha2Player	?	Yes	Yes	No
Amarok	?	Yes	?	?
Aqualung	?	Yes	Yes	?
Audacious	?	?	?	Yes
Audion	?	?	?	?
cmus	?	?	?	?
Cog	?	?	?	?
DeliPlayer	?	?	?	?
foobar2000	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Jajuk	?	?	?	?
JuK	?	?	?	?
Herrie	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
KSP Sound Player	No	Yes	Yes	Partial
Listen	?	?	?	?
Media Jukebox	?	?	?	?
MediaMonkey	?	?	?	?
Mesk	?	?	?	?
MPXPLAY	?	?	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	?	?	?
musikCube	?	?	?	?
Quod Libet	?	?	?	?
QuickPlayer	?	?	?	?
Rhapsody	?	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	?	?	Yes	?
Songbird	?	?	?	?
Sonique	?	?	?	?
VUPlayer	?	?	?	?
XMMS	?	Yes	Yes	?
XMPlay	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Zinf	?	?	?	?
Audio player	asx/wax/wvx	m3u8	pls	xspf

Metadata capability

Information about what metadata, or tagging, formats the players understand. Most other containers have their own metadata format and the players usually use them. Footnotes lead to information about capabilties of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such functionality.

Audio player	ID3v1	ID3v2	APEv2 tag	Vorbis comment	Cue sheet	CD-Text
AIMP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AlMyMusic	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
AlbumPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Alpha2Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?
Amarok	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	No	?
Aqualung	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Audacious	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Audion	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?
cmus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Cog	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
DeliPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
foobar2000	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Goggles Music Manager	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Jajuk	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
JuK	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
KSP Sound Player	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	?	?
Listen	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Media Jukebox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaMonkey	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Mesk	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
MPXPLAY	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	Yes
MusicBee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	No
musikCube	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Muzikbrowzer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
Quod Libet	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
QuickPlayer	Partial	Partial	No	?	?	?
Rhapsody	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?
Rhythmbox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
SnackAmp	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
Songbird	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
Sonique	Yes	No	?	?	?	?
Spider Player	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes
VUPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes
XMMS	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
XMPlay	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes
Zinf	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
Audio player	ID3v1	ID3v2	APEv2 tag	Vorbis comment	Cue sheet	CD-Text

Optical media capability

Information about what kinds of optical discs the players can play. Footnotes lead to information about capabilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such functionality. Playback of Super Audio CD is not possible for any media player, because no suitable hardware exists. All media players capable of audio CD playback will also play the Redbook core of any HDCD disc, providing no sound-quality benefits over standard audio CDs.

Audio player	Audio
	CD	DVD-Audio	HDCD
AIMP	Yes	No	No
AlbumPlayer	No	No	No
Alpha2Player	Yes	No	No
Amarok	Yes	No	No
Aqualung	Yes	No	No
Audacious	Yes	No	No
Audion	Yes	No	No
cmus	No	No	No
Cog	No	No	No
DeliPlayer	No	No	No
foobar2000	Yes	Yes (plugin)	No
Jajuk	Yes	No	No
JuK	Yes	No	No
KSP Sound Player	No	No	No
Media Jukebox	Yes	No	No
MediaMonkey	Yes	No	No
Mesk	Yes	No	No
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	No	No
musikCube	Yes	No	No
Quod Libet	Yes	No	No
QuickPlayer	Yes	No	No
Rhapsody	Yes	No	No
Rhythmbox	Yes	No	No
Songbird	Yes	No	No
Sonique	Yes	No	No
VUPlayer	Yes	No	No
XMMS	Yes	No	No
XMPlay	Yes	No	No
Yahoo! Music Jukebox	Yes	No	No
Zinf	Yes	No	No
Audio player	CD	DVD-Audio	HDCD
	Audio

See also

• List of codecs
• Open source codecs and containers
• Comparison of audio codecs
• Comparison of container formats
• Comparison of portable media players