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Top Mac MKV Players in 2023

QuickTime is unable to play MKV files on Mac. Alternative players can open MKV and other formats not native to macOS. Our top 5 list will allow you to make an informed choice and pick a player based on its features and advantages. All players included in this list can open MKV without the need to install additional codecs.

Top choice
Elmedia Player Free
4.5 Rank based on 119503+ users, Reviews(11950)
Mac MKV Player

Important Mac .mkv Player Features

Some of these players carry a large price, but even if it’s free, you’ll be investing your time, and it will be harder to move on once you’ve gotten used to it. Go for the players that have these important features:

  • It should play more than MKV! WMV, AVI, MOV, MP4, MP3, DAT, FLAC, FLV, SWF, MP3, M4V and MPG are formats you’ll encounter often.
  • It should run natively on your OS version to make sure that it can play 4K and 8K videos lag-free.
  • The interface should be easy for you to use. This depends on your skill level, but most people prefer a simple, convenient UI.
  • Make sure you can create, load and manage playlists in the software.
  • Avoid adware and other malicious attempts at your computer’s security.

1. MKV Player for Macs - Elmedia Player

Since it opens almost any codecs, Elmedia is an effective MKV player for Mac. It can save screenshots and playlists, create and edit bookmarks, and you can switch to the audio device you need. Elmedia Player is also fully compatible with subtitles, with a built-in function to search on OpenSubtitles.

After upgrading to Elmedia PRO, you can stream over AirPlay 2 and DLNA, tune audio and video, save your downloaded subtitles, enable deinterlacing, and loop fragments of your clips.

Best MKV Player for Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Supports any format
  • Works natively on Ventura
  • Frequent updates
  • Many configurable settings
  • Easy streaming

icon cons Cons

  • Mac only
  • Free version has restricted features

2. IINA Player

IINA is a Mac MKV player with an Apple-like UI. Use this player if you like using Force Touch, the Touch Bar, and Trackpad gestures. It also offers other unusual options, such as intricate playback speed controls. IINA is a rather universal player, so you’ll be able to play many different media files with it.

free MKV player for Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Authentic UI
  • Uses Macbook features
  • Free and Open Source

icon cons Cons

  • Uses a lot of CPU for HD playback
  • Currently in development

3. Cisdem Video Player

This player’s functionality is somewhat limited, but it will allow you to play MKV files on Mac. Cisdem can handle 50 formats in total, and it’s great for Ultra HD playback, showing high performance with 4K and 5K videos. Surprisingly, it can also convert some types of media files.

MKV file player for Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Good performance with UHD video
  • Can convert video and audio

icon cons Cons

  • Limited features
  • Free version is restricted

4. Omni Player

Omni Player is a premium-quality player that can be used for free, at the expense of features. It opens MKV easily, and has countless settings for every aspect of your playback. Some of them are unique - for example, Omni Player can make a .gif image of any video moment you want.

 best MKV player Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Highly customizable
  • Free to use
  • Has some unique features

icon cons Cons

  • Costly upgrade needed to access all of it

5. VideoLan Client (VLC)

A fully free player that can do almost anything, VLC also suffers from the amount of options. It can stream, but you’ll have to go through numerous menus with unclear settings. It can customize playback like no other player, but the Advanced Preferences menu will make you resort to Google. For simple tasks, like playing MKV, it is excellent, and perfectly usable.

player for MKV Mac

icon pros Pros

  • Massive amount of settings
  • Plays almost any file
  • No hidden costs

icon cons Cons

  • Easy to get lost in the settings
  • Streaming is painful

Player Comparison Table

Here, we will compare the Mac MKV players side-by-side, with all their features listed for better visibility.

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Swipe tip
Features
VideoDuke
Elmedia
INNA
Cisdem
OmniPlayer
VLC
Support for many media formats
Support for many media formats
yes (MKV, WMV, AVI,MP4, SWF, FLV, AAC, WMA, FLAC, MP3, etc.)  
yes (AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, M4V, AAC,FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.)  
yes (MKV, AVI, FLV, AVCHD, WMV, (MP3, OGG, ACC, WMA, AIFF, etc.)  
yes ( AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, M4V, AAC, FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, etc. )  
yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, MP3, WMA, AAC, etc.)  
Subtitle support
Subtitle support
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
Screen recording option
Screen recording option
no  
no  
no  
yes (PRO)  
yes  
Advanced playback options
Advanced playback options
yes  
yes  
no  
yes  
yes  
Create and manage playlists
Create and manage playlists
yes  
yes  
no  
yes  
yes  
Built-in audio equalizer
Built-in audio equalizer
yes  
yes  
no  
yes  
yes  
Free versions
Free versions
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes

FAQ

  1. Download Elmedia Player .dmg from this site.
  2. Install and open the app.
  3. Using Finder, drag the file to the Elmedia Player window, or use the context menu and choose Elmedia in the “Open With” dialog.
Safari Browser can’t play .mkv videos. In fact, it can only play formats that are natively supported on macOS.
QuickTime does not include MKV-playing functionality. A different third-party player is needed for that. Elmedia Player is our top recommendation to play MKV files on Mac for free in a few clicks.
Elmedia Player supports tons of codecs, so it is certain to play any MKV file, no matter how it’s encoded, so we believe it’s a perfect choice to open MKV on Mac for free.
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