Best 9 MOV Players for Mac, Windows 10/11, Android, and iPhone

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Updated on: October 2, 2024
Time to read: 13 minutes
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MOV files are known for being good quality videos that are large in size. In the past, there weren’t many media players around that were capable of playing them smoothly. Nowadays, though, you can easily find applications with built-in codecs for them.

After testing several applications, we’ve found the best 9 MOV players for Mac, Windows 10/11, Android, and iPhone. In this article, we’ll provide a detailed overview of all of them.

Table of Contents

Compare MOV File Players Software

Before we move on to the next section, we recommend you take a quick look at this table that lists our top 9 MOV files player. We’ve divided them according to the operating systems they’re compatible with and whether or not they’re free.

App OS Free/Paid
Elmedia macOS Free, Pro version starting from $19.95 (one-time payment)
Windows Media Player Windows Free
VLC Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS Free
QuickTime Windows and macOS Free
RealPlayer Windows, iOS, and Android Free, Paid plan starting from $24.99
GOM Windows and macOS Free, Paid plan available for $9.99 (one-time payment)
5KPlayer Windows and macOS Free
PotPlayer Windows Free
KMPlayer Windows, iOS, and Android Free

What is a MOV file?

MOV, or the QuickTime File Format (QTFF), was created by Apple in 1998. It contains multiple tracks, each of which further contains data like audio, video, subtitles, chapters, effects, and more.

Similar to MP4 videos, the MOV file format uses the MPEG-4 codec. In fact, there’s virtually no difference between the two formats other than the fact that MP4 files are more compressed and more widely used on the Internet.

Despite being developed by Apple, the MOV format can be played on a number of different devices and platforms. There are now many applications that are capable of playing MOV smoothly, 9 of which we’ve described below.

List of 9 MOV Video Players for Mac/Windows/Android/iPhone

1. Elmedia Player

Elmedia Player is the most convenient application you can use on macOS to play MOV video files in Ultra HD. It fully supports the QuickTime movie file MOV format and is packed with features.

Elmedia Player

You can use the application to quickly switch between chapters and change audio tracks. It comes with a 10-band audio equalizer, several playback controls, and a video tuner.

Two things we love about Elmedia are that it’s specially optimized for Intel and Apple silicon Macs, and you don’t have to spend any time downloading codecs. It fully supports 70+ file formats and even has a built-in search feature for downloading subtitles.

Features:

  • Picture-in-picture mode
  • Stream videos to other devices over AirPlay
  • Built-in search and download subtitle feature

 

Download: from the official website

Supported formats: MOV, FLV, VOB, MP4, AVI, SWF, WMV, M4V, MPG, MKV, and more

Supported OS: macOS 10.12 or above

Developer: Electronic Team, Inc.

Price: Free | Pro version starting from $19.95 (one-time payment)

Pros

  • Doesn’t require you to download any codec.
  • Optimized for Macs.
  • Don’t have to convert .mov into other formats.
  • Supports AirPlay.

Cons

  • Not available for PCs.

How to Open and Play MOV Videos on Mac Using Elmedia Player

To open MOV videos on your Mac with Elmedia Player, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Download Elmedia from the App Store or directly from its official website.

Download Elmedia

2. Use one of the following methods to open your video:

  • Drag the video onto the player, and it’ll automatically start playing.
  • Right-click (or secondary click on macOS) on the video you want to play and select Open With in the drop-down list that appears. Choose Elmedia Player.
Right-click on the video

3. Start watching your video!

If it is still not playing, we recommend checking out this video that teaches you how to play any format on Elmedia. 

Play MOV or other format videos in Elmedia Player easily

2. Windows Media Player

How can Windows Media Player play MOV files? The format was created by Apple, after all, a company is known for its closed ecosystem.

WMP application

It’s true that older versions of WMP don’t support many formats unless you download additional codecs. But the newest version of the app is a player that plays MOV videos without asking you to download anything.

If it does cause any problems, you can easily convert them into a more accessible format using the application’s built-in converter.

The software is built into PCs and supports a wide variety of formats. For Windows users, this can easily be their primary media player for MOV playback.

Features:

  • Sync media files with portable devices
  • Comes with a built-in video format converter

 

Download: Windows

Supported formats: MOV, VOB, FLV, MPG, WAV, MP4, 3GP, and more

Supported OS: Included in all Windows versions

Developer: Microsoft

Price: Free

Pros

  • Built-into Windows PCs so you don’t have to download anything
  • You can sync your media files with gaming consoles and handheld devices
  • Has an incredibly simple interface

Cons

  • Exclusive to Windows

3. VLC

VLC or VideoLAN is an open-source, cross-platform MOV media player. It comes with a multitude of advanced features, and there’s also a variety of playback options.

VideoLAN VLC Media Player

It fully supports MOV video playback, and you won’t have to download any codec to play them. The app is completely free to use, and you’ll never see your screen get filled up with ads while watching videos.

VLC supports hardware acceleration on all platforms. It wouldn’t be too farfetched to say that it’s the default media application for most users, mostly because of how simple and versatile it is. Its old interface does leave more to be desired, but overall, it’s an excellent application for opening and playing MOV files.

Features:

  • Supports hardware acceleration on all platforms
  • Has subtitle track synchronization

 

Download: Mac | Windows | Android | iOS/iPadOS

Supported formats: MOV, VOB, FLV, MPEG, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP4, MOV, 3GP, and more

Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP, macOS 10.7.5 or above, Android 4.2 or above, iOS 9.0 or above

Developer: VideoLAN

Price: Free

Pros

  • You can customize the application’s skin and add plugins
  • Can be used on multiple operating systems
  • Has many advanced features like noise reduction and deinterlacing

Cons

  • Many of its advanced features can be hard to find in the settings

4. QuickTime

QuickTime Player is Apple’s proprietary video player that supports MOV files. It’s built into all Macs and has a clean interface that makes it easy to use. Unfortunately, Apple dropped support for its Windows counterpart in early 2016.

QuickTime Player 10.5

You can still download QuickTime 7 on Windows 7 and Vista, but it may not be safe to use because it doesn’t receive security patches anymore. Additionally, it won’t have all the features that are included in the latest version of the application, QuickTime X.

QuickTime X lets you share videos directly to YouTube, enable hardware acceleration, convert videos to other formats, and more.

What we don’t like about QuickTime X is that it doesn’t support the SRT subtitle format. It’s perhaps the most widely used format for subtitles, which is why the application’s lack of support for it is disappointing.

Other than that, it’s a free player for MOV files that comes pre-installed on all Macs.

Features:

  • Share videos directly to YouTube. (Only on QuickTime X)
  • Record video and audio. (Only on QuickTime X)

 

Download: Mac and Windows

Supported formats: MOV, 3GPP, OGG, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, Motion JPEG, FLC, and more

Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista, built-into all Mac computers

Developer: Apple

Price: Free

Pros

  • Built into all Macs
  • You can use it to record video and audio on macOS
  • Easily share your videos online with QuickTime

Cons

  • Apple doesn’t support the Windows version of QuickTime anymore

5. RealPlayer

RealPlayer is one of the most versatile MOV applications on the market. Not only does it let you play your videos without having to download codecs, but you can also use it as a device management application.

RealPlayer

You can easily use it to keep media files synced across all your devices and operating systems, including iOS and iPad. Its intuitive interface is what’s driven people to use it for so many years. And with the support of various plugins, there are tons of functionalities you can add to it.

Just like QuickTime, you can use RealPlayer to directly upload videos to online platforms. You can also download videos from the Internet within the player and cast them to your TV via Chromecast.

Features:

  • Includes a built-in format converter
  • Functions as a device management software
  • Stream videos to your TV with Chromecast

 

Download: Windows | iOS | Android

Supported formats: MOV, FLV, 3GP, MPEG-4, EVRC, MVB, WAV, and more

Supported OS: Windows 7/8/8 Pro/10/11, iOS/iPadOS 13.0 or above, Android 4.4 or above

Developer: RealNetworks

Price: Free | Paid plan starting from $24.99 (one-time payment)

Pros

  • Intuitive UI
  • Sync all your devices easily
  • Access videos stored on platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox

Cons

  • No app for macOS

6. GOM

GOM Player is an excellent MOV movie player. In case your video doesn’t play because of missing codecs, it’ll automatically search for and download them.

GOM Player

It offers multiple playback controls and 360 VR video support (only on Windows Vista and above). One neat feature is that the player automatically looks for subtitles and syncs them with the video.

The macOS version of GOM Player has fewer features than its PC counterpart. For example, the built-in subtitle and codec search tools only work on Windows. It’s also important to mention here that the Windows Vista and below versions are no longer supported by the developer.

Features:

  • 360 VR video playback on Windows Vista and above
  • Built-in subtitle and codec download feature on Windows

 

Download: Windows and Mac | iOS | Android

Supported formats: MOV, FLV, OGM, MKV, MP4, M4V, AVI, MOV, MPG, M2V, and more

Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP, macOS 10.13 or above

Developer: GOMLab

Price: Free | Paid plan available for $9.99 (one-time payment)

Pros

  • Has a modern and minimalist user interface
  • Pro version is cheap
  • You can use the mobile app as a remote control for the desktop one

Cons

  • The Mac version doesn’t have too many features

7. 5KPlayer

5KPlayer is a free MOV video player that supports hundreds of audio and video formats. Like many other modern media players, 5KPlayer supports video streaming to other devices using AirPlay and DLNA servers.

5KPlayer

The application has various features including playback controls, subtitle synchronization, playlist management, hardware acceleration, and more. You can also use it to listen to online radio, watch IPTV, and download videos from YouTube and many other sites.

5KPlayer supports 360 VR videos on Windows 10 and latest macOS. Another cool feature is that you can use it to download videos from sites like Dailymotion, Vimeo, Instagram, and Facebook.

Features:

  • Has an online radio and IPTV
  • AirPlay and DLNA capabilities
  • Includes an online video downloader

 

Download: Windows | Mac

Supported formats: MOV, VOB, MP4, AVI, MKV, MPEG, FLV, SWF, WEBM, XVID, and more

Supported OS: Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP, macOS 10.14 or above

Developer: DearMob, Inc.

Price: Free

Pros

  • Adjust the speed of subtitles with synchronization tools
  • Play 360 VR videos
  • Use the application as a media library and create playlists

Cons

  • The application is free, but sometimes shows ads

8. PotPlayer

PotPlayer is a Windows-exclusive MOV viewer that supports hardware acceleration and has an “immersive 3D viewing experience.” It lets you bookmark chapters or scenes so you can easily watch them at the press of a button.

PotPlayer window

Since it has OpenCodec integrated with it, you can add any codec you want if you can’t play a MOV movie. It also has a screen-capturing tool that you can use to take snapshots and record your videos. And with the help of its equalizer, you can conveniently adjust the sound to your liking.

The only problem, as you might have guessed already, is that it’s not available on macOS.

Features:

  • Supports 3D glasses
  • Direct3D9 Ex Flip Mode
  • Built-in screen recorder

 

Download: Windows

Supported formats: MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, FLV, and more

Supported OS: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP

Developer: Daum Communications

Price: Free

Pros

  • Lets you bookmark specific chapters for quick access
  • Compatible with various subtitle formats
  • Completely free and doesn’t show any ads

Cons

  • Only available on Windows

9. KMPlayer

KMPlayer is a great choice if you want to play large 4K or even 8K videos. It’s compatible with tons of codecs and subtitle formats, and you should be able to play any MOV video.

KMPlayer

It has a multitude of additional features, including the ability to create GIFs out of your videos. You can also download YouTube videos simply by copying and pasting URLs. KMPlayer makes it possible to adjust various settings of the video, including brightness, saturation, and contrast.

Couple these features with a sleek UI and playback controls, and you get a great application with which you can play MOV videos.

Features:

  • Has a plethora of playback controls
  • Lets you adjust your video’s colors
  • Create GIFs

 

Download: Windows | Android | iOS

Supported formats: MOV, VOB, VCD, AVI, MKV, OGG, 3GP, AAC, WMV, and more

Supported OS: Windows Vista or above, iOS 11.0 or above, Android 4.3 or above

Developer: Pandora TV

Price: Free

Pros

  • Play videos stored online on platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox
  • All versions of the app no longer show ads
  • Allows you to download videos from YouTube and other streaming platforms

Cons

  • High-resolution videos won’t sometimes play on older devices

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FAQ

Elmedia Player is the best application for viewing MOV files on Mac. It has a modern design and is incredibly well-optimized for macOS. If you’re a Windows user, we recommend sticking to Windows Media Player.

If your MOV video won’t play, it may be corrupt, or you might have to download additional codecs. Try playing it with Elmedia. It comes pre-installed with tons of different codecs, so you won’t have to download anything else.