mpv vs Kodi

mpv: what it's good at

mpv is a deliberately minimal player with no visible interface clutter, offering excellent video output quality, GPU-accelerated rendering and extensive scripting. It is the enthusiast's choice for high-quality local playback.

• High-quality GPU video output
• Minimal, distraction-free interface
• Highly scriptable and configurable
• Excellent subtitle rendering

Kodi: what it's good at

Kodi organises your movies, TV shows, music and photos into a polished ten-foot interface designed for a television and a remote control, automatically fetching artwork and metadata for your library.

• Full-screen home-theatre interface
• Automatic artwork and metadata scraping
• Remote control and mobile app support
• Large official add-on library

Which should you choose?

Both are free, so the honest answer is that you can install either and decide for yourself — that is the advantage of free software over a paid trial.

Both run on Windows, macOS, Linux. Only Kodi supports Android. Both are open source, so neither locks you in.

We deliberately do not publish a star rating for either. We have no way to verify a rating that would be honest at scale, and an invented one would be worse than none — so we give you the facts and let you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Is mpv better than Kodi?

Neither is universally better. mpv minimalist, keyboard-driven, very high quality video player, while Kodi turn any computer into a full home-theatre media centre. The right pick depends on your platform and workflow.

Are both really free?

mpv is open source and Kodi is open source. Both can be downloaded without paying.

Can I install both?

Yes. Since neither costs anything, installing both and comparing them on your own files is usually the fastest way to decide.