VideoLAN Client (VLC)
Cross-platform multimedia player client and server supporting most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
Description from awesome-selfhosted (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Still maintained? Yes: 284 commits in the last 90 days.
Comparisons in Media Streaming - Video Streaming: YouTube alternatives, Netflix alternatives, Twitch alternatives, Vimeo alternatives.
At a glance
VideoLAN Client (VLC) quick facts
- Health score
- 52/100 SLOWING
- Stars
- 44
- Last commit
- today (Oct 2026)
- Latest release
- No tagged release
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
Top alternatives to VideoLAN Client (VLC)
Why it ranks here
Health score explained
VideoLAN Client (VLC) scores 52/100, #9 of 19 in Media Streaming - Video Streaming: 284 commits in the last 90 days earn 35.0 of 35 points, the absence of a tagged release forfeits all 25 release points, 44 stars add 6.6 of 20, an active, unarchived repository keeps 10 and no advertised Docker image leaves the final 10 unclaimed. That places it in the slowing band (40 to 69). The biggest shortfall is release recency, worth 25.0 more points.
Recomputed nightly from the code.videolan.org API. How the score is calculated.
- Commit activity 35.0 / 35
284 commits in 90 days (30+ scores full marks)
- Release recency biggest shortfall 0.0 / 25
No tagged release found
- Stars 6.6 / 20
44 stars on code.videolan.org (logarithmic)
- Not archived 10.0 / 10
Repository is active
- Docker support 0.0 / 10
No Docker support advertised
Commit activity
- 284
- Last 90 days
- 300
- Last 12 months
- today
- Last push
Ranked #9 of 19 tools in Media Streaming - Video Streaming by health , between Owncast (#8) and Rapidbay (#10) .
Details
| Licence | GPL-2.0 |
| Platforms | C, deb |
| Latest release | No tagged release |
| Stars | 44 |
| Docker | Not advertised |
| Repository | code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc ↗ |
VideoLAN Client (VLC) vs its top 5 alternatives
Active tools that share a category with VideoLAN Client (VLC) (Media Streaming - Video Streaming), scored on the same five terms.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invidious | 98 | 26k | AGPL-3.0 | 4 days ago |
| OvenMediaEngine | 94 | 3.3k | AGPL-3.0 | today |
| PeerTube | 87 | 15k | AGPL-3.0 | 2 days ago |
| Owncast | 86 | 12k | MIT | 4 days ago |
| VideoLAN Client (VLC) (this tool) | 52 | 44 | GPL-2.0 | today |
| Restreamer | 35 | 5.2k | Apache-2.0 | 5 months ago |
VideoLAN Client (VLC): common questions
Is VideoLAN Client (VLC) still maintained?
VideoLAN Client (VLC) had 284 commits in the last 90 days and its last push was today. Repoly recomputes this nightly.