Summary: find best MKV video player for macOS here after you read the unbiased review of top 6 free MKV media player.
5KPlayer is not only a free MP4 video player for Mac computer, but a Mac player for all formats. It's 100% free and clean of ads or virus. With massive codec library built-in, Mac users can smoothly play any MP4 files, H.265, WMV, AVI, MOV, MP4, M4V, FLV, MKV etc.
- DAT Video Player Free Download Windows 10/8/7: Play DAT Files EasilyDAT player free download for Window 10/8/7 in this page. If you want to play DAT videos files on Windows 10/8/7 or Mac, you need this free DAT video player that can play not only all DAT VCD files, but also MP4 MKV AVI videos, and MP3 FLAC AAC music.
- Wondershare Free Video Converter is the best free AVI converter for Mac and Windows users. It can convert AVI to most popular video formats such as MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, etc. And vice versa with super fast speed. You can also edit AVI videos by cutting unwanted parts or making other changes.
Windows reportedly got the native support of MKV file format through the new built-in codec in the video app 3 years ago. While Mac seems to have no update plan for the open-source container format. This makes it hard to play MKV on Mac with its QuickTime player or iTunes, unless you download a MKV codec pack to ensure proper playback, especially when Quicktime component Perian has been discontinued for 6 years, failed to work with OS X Lion or later versions.
Calm down. Free MKV video player for Mac is your way out. Before reviewing the apps for playing MKV files on Mac, there is a word or two about the best MKV player for Mac, which shall:
- Support an extensive list of video/audio formats without any codecs installed.
- Cope with 4K/HD videos without bugs, time lags or slowdowns.
- Adjust parameter settings in a flash, such as manage subtitles, choose the track, etc.
- Come with intuitive Mac-style interface to play MKV at your fingertips.
- Be free of pops up, ads, malware or spyware.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Free MKV Players for Mac 2021
Since most posts focus the features while underestimate the user feedback and media sites review while compiling the best MKV media player for Mac list, here we do a new compilation and include the 2021 best free MKV player for Mac software, with their pros, cons, ratings and reviews all listed below.
1. 5KPlayer
User Rate: ★★★★★ | License: Free
When it comes to free MKV player for Mac in 2021, 5KPlayer is the one you can never miss. Despite of a newly emerged app, the lightweight app has ranked no.1 with the most Mac downloads on the tech sites CNET, receiving a chunk of thumbs up from customers worldwide for its ease of use and tremendous DVD/video/audio playback ability. Specifically, you can play Matroska videos all at your fingertips with perfect HD experience.
Except for supporting DVD, MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, MKV, H.264, MPEG4, FLV, M2TS, AVCHD, 3GP, WebM, etc, the free MKV video player for Mac also adds the latest HEVC/H.265, VP9, etc into its supported list. That means it will be hassle-free to even play 4K MKV videos in HEVC on your Mac QuickTime. Extra features such as downloading MKV movies and mirroring are icing on the cake.
Pros:
- Minimalistic interface.
- Support UHD videos up to 4K/5K/8K.
- Support HEVC.
- Support online video download.
Cons:
- No problems found
2. VLC
User Rate: ★★★★★ | License: Free
VLC is a world-famous cross-platform free media player running on Windows and Mac. It accepts a wide range of formats, ranging from HD Matroska, QuickTime file format, MP4, OGG, AAC, to DVD, Blu ray, without having to install any extra codecs or filters. You can preview the MKV file you are downloading and experience a stable MKV video playback on your Mac, even it is damaged, incomplete, or unfinished. It also features abilities to add subtitles to MKV files, organize and operate the video/audio/subtitle tracks of MKV easily, loop or deinterlace MKV videos, etc. However, In our test of playing MKV files in VLC, we experience some problems like VLC stuttering or grey screen. You can click here to troubleshoot VLC won't play MKV error.
Besides serving as the best free MKV player for Mac, VLC is the first to support playing encrypted DVDs on Mac by using the libdvdcss library and is available to create screencasts, record the desktop and even convert MKV into various formats.
Pros:
- No additional codecs required.
- Free, open-source and cross-platform.
- Support Blu-ray playback.
Cons:
- Lack advanced music player features.
- MKV playback sometimes won't work.
3. Elmedia Player
User Rate: ★★★★ | License: Paid
Elmedia Player is not as famous as VLC but it remains my personal preference for the best free MKV player for Mac for the extensive support of nearly any video format imaginable, including FLV, SWF, WMV, AVI, MOV, MP4, MP3, MKV, MPG, etc, without extra codecs required.
Elmedia is much more than just a MKV video player for Mac that offers a friendly and pleasant Matroska video playback experience on Mac, it is a full-fledged media server app that can set your MKV video on the loop, manage the subtitles, convert Flash projectors to SWF and even make screenshots from the MKV video as PNG, TIFF or GIF, watch YouTube videos without ads, adjust playback speed, visualizes different events, tweak the brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.
Pros:
- Convenient video settings.
- Play online videos without ads.
- Build-in web browser.
Cons:
- Doesn't support RTSP stream.
4. Mac Blu Ray Player
User Rate: ★★★★ | License: Free
Mac Blu-ray Player is put atop the list of 2021 best free MKV file player for Mac simply because it can play virtually any video file you throw at it, even for the oddball video formats, ranging from AVI, DVD, Blu-ray, Video CD, MOV, FLV, MPEG, AAC, MP4, MP3, to RMVB, AC3. You can watch videos of high definition up to 4K. That means you have no troubles playing MKV videos at 2610p, 1080p, 720p, etc.
With high compatibility with Mac version and proprietary hardware acceleration technology, it promises you an instant playback of MKV files even on the latest Mac OS, without burdening the RAM or CPU usage.
Pros:
Best Free Avi Player For Mac 2019
- Play all file types, whether physical or digital.
Cons:
- High CPU usage required.
5. MPlayer X
User Rate: ★★★ | License: Free
MPlayer X delivers the perfect balance between simplicity and performance when it comes to play MKV on Mac, thanks to its Mac-style minimalistic interface. It's the best choice on Mac to play HD MKV videos, along with advanced subtitles in ASS format, supporting an impressive amount of imaginable file types and other uncommon formats like ASF, WebM, etc, without extra plug-ins or codec packs.
However, MPlayer X is reportedly bundled with virus and adware that harm your computer and consume a lot of CPU resources.
Pros:
- Pleasant Mac style view.
- Smart multi-touch control.
Cons:
- High CPU usage.
- Frequent system crash.
- No proper playlist feature.
6. MKPlayer
User Rate: ★★★★ | License: Free & Paid
Available in App Store, this MKV video player offers you with two options: free or paid for pro features. If you choose free version, you can free play MKV video files on macOS (macOS 10.10 or later). If you purchase MKPlayer with $4.99, the TV playback feature is unlocked. More pro features gets accessible after you finish in-app purchase at $6.99, including Safari Extension (easily open videos found on websites), MKV multi-track audio and multilingual subtitles playback and video adjustment feature (brightness, contrast, saturation...).
Pros:
- Play MKV video with multi-track audio and multi-track subtitles supported.
- AirPlay feature to stream MKV videos from macOS to TV for bigger screen playback.
- Conveniently configure video adjustment parameters
Cons:
- Pro features need to be paid.
- MKV video playback is not smooth (kind of jittered) sometimes and the audio would fade out every few seconds.
- Unable to move backward or forward in the file being played.
Hope the afore-mentioned MKV video player freeware would help smoothly playback MKV multi-track videos without image or sound issue. You're welcomed to share your recommendations with us if you've ever used any better MKV player.
If you want to play MP4 on Mac computer, there are many choices on 2021 best MP4 player Mac-oriented for free.
There are users complaining that QuickTime can't play mp4 on Mac. Though MP4 is listed as one of the supported formats by QuickTime Player, there are some MP4 files in codec that is proprietary to Microsoft. In fact, QuickTime Player support several formats only (namely mov, mpeg4, mpeg2, mpeg1, 3gpp, 3gpp2, avchd, avi, DV), and many popular formats are out of luck, including MP4 encoded with certain codec. Here are top MP4 video player for macOS.
Table of Contents
Part 1: List of 2021 Best MP4 Player for Mac
Best Free Avi Player For Mac
5KPlayer
Price: Free
Supported formats: Almost all popular formats, HD/4K/5K/8K UHD videos, DVD
Ads: Ads-free
5KPlayer is not only a free MP4 video player for Mac computer, but a Mac player for all formats. It's 100% free and clean of ads or virus. With massive codec library built-in, Mac users can smoothly play any MP4 files, H.265, WMV, AVI, MOV, MP4, M4V, FLV, MKV etc. Unlike some Mac MP4 players that may generate choppy or improper playback with high-res videos, 5KPlayer serves as a 4K UHD player with full support for 8K/5K/4K UHD, HD 1080P/720P.
Less CPU usage is also noticed even with UHD video. It offers online video downloader and Airplay media streamer.
VLC Media Player
Price: Free
Supported formats: Almost all popular formats, DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs
Ads: Ads-free
VLC Media Player is one of the most popular Mac player for MP4 videos. Its robust features makes it one of 2017 best MP4 player Mac for free. It plays everything you throw at it, be it MP4, AVI, LFV, MOV, WMV, disc image, DVD, CD etc. Its long-term leading position is self-explanatory on its powerful features.
The only thing you may note is that VLC can't play mp4 on Mac smoothly in UHD resolution. Though you can solve this by enable the GPU decoding, which works with H.264 only. There are also users complaining on audio delay problem and outdated interface.
Elmedia Player
Price: Free (paid version available)
Supported formats: Almost all popular formats, HD videos
Ads: Ads-free
To free download 2021 best mp4 video player for macOS, Elmedia Player also stands as a good choice. This player is totally free and safe. A wide range of video/audio formats are supported, including MP4, FLV, WMV, MOV, AVI and more to allow users play MP4 on Mac freely. It surpasses many other competitors for that it integrates an online browser and Airplay streamer.
The player has its drawbacks that it plays mp4 videos in up to HD only, where massive CPU is occupied. Some useful features like online video download is bounded with the Pro version, which is priced at $19.95.
Cisdem Video Player for Mac
Price: Free (paid version available)
Supported formats: 50+ video/audio formats, 4K/5K/HD videos
Ads: Ads-free
Cisdem Video Player is a 100% FREE MP4 player for macOS. It loads videos fast, plays most file formats and runs smoothly with HD/UHD videos without buffering or crashes. You will rarely experience MP4 not paying on Mac problem with the player. You're also allowed to add extra subtitles to the movie directly.
Comparing with other programs, this video player falls in limited playable formats. Meanwhile, note that it supports El Capitan now and is compatible with the latest macOS.
DivX Player
Price: Free (paid version available)
Supported formats: Most popular formats, Ultra HD 4K Videos
Ads: Ads-supported
DivX Player is a famous 4K media player to play 4K HEVC videos. It plays a variety of formats on Mac, including AVI, DIVX, MKV, MP4 and more. If you want a free Mac MP4 player that gives you the highest playback quality and best compression, DivX Player is undoubtedly the best choice, as it is dedicated for Ultra HD videos. Plus, it has a huge number of additional features.
It will be an even better HD MP4 video player for Mac if there the ads can be removed. Besides, the DivX pack comes large in size and more functions are available with the paid version.
Movist for Mac
Price: Free (paid version available)
Supported formats: Most popular formats, Ultra HD 4K Videos
Ads: Ads-free
If your QuickTime Player can't play MP4 on Mac smoothly, free download MP4 player on Mac Movist. This is a QuickTime alternative video player that plays a plethora of media formats not supported by QuickTime. A wide range of playback navigation options are offered. Most importantly, it has the most flexible subtitle control available, with which you can adjust the subtitles as you like.
Part 2: How to Play MP4 and Any Other Formats on Mac Freely
If you can't play MP4 files on any Mac MP4 players 2019 due to uncommon codecs, or have trouble with other formats, there is another way to allow you play videos in any formats freely in addition to a MP4 video player for Mac: converting videos. For the widest formats supported and highest playback quality, here MacX Video Converter Pro is selected:
- Built in 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs, it converts any MKV, MTS, MOV, AVI, H.264, H.265, HEVC any videos freely to format supported by your player;
- Output videos to any media players, iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobiles;
- Free download MP4 videos, other web files from YouTube, FaceBook, Vimeo, Vevo and 1000 more sites;
- Convert 4K UHD, 8K/5K, HD videos with untouched quality loss;
- No.1 converter with Intel QSV/Nvidia/AMD hardware acceleration support to ensure the fastest video to MP4 conversion speed.
What Is The Best Avi Player For Mac
How to Convert Any Videos for MP4 Video Players on Mac
Step 1: Free download this high-end MP4 video converter on Mac or Windows computer and open it. Then click 'Add File' button to load the MP4 videos not playing on Mac (or any other formats).
Step 2: Choose an output format. To convert videos for any free Mac MP4 player (as well as QuickTime Player), select MP4 H.264 as the output format. (you can also select a compatible video format for iPhone, iPad or Android devices)
Step 3: Click 'Browse' button to select a destination folder and click OK.
Tips: Please do check the Intel box to enable the hardware acceleration tech to boost the mp4 conversion on Mac.
Step 4: Click 'RUN' button to start converting videos to MP4. Then you can play the output MP4 videos on QuickTime Player or other MP4 video players for macOS.