Top Mac MKV Players in 2024

Nataliia Paraskeva Mar 15, 2024

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)

Direct download

Users situation:

Please recommend the best apps for playing .mkv files on my M2 MacBook Air — Reddit

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.

Latest update: Nov 29, 2023

Price: free (basic features), price for Pro version - $19.99

Supported OS: macOS

Overall, best video player in the market. Fast, easily adaptable to any video codec available and most importantly its ability to stream easily to other devices is exceptional. Subtitles can be a challenge, especially if you are streaming to another device as there appears to be no real conformity to a standard excepted from one device to another. Other than that, this is the best player on the market — cjnwo4life, Mac App Store

Pros

Plays MKV files directly without conversion
Supports any format
Frequent updates
Many configurable settings
Easy streaming

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.

Latest update: Jul 07, 2023

Price: free

Supported OS: macOS

A great player, and very competitive with VLC, but I haven't discovered a way to synchronize, play and scrub through two videos at the same time using a single set of controls. I'd happily drop a few dollars for the feature if the developers could figure out how to accomplish this — Ptrix, MacUpdate

Pros

Authentic UI
Uses Macbook features
Free and Open Source

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.

Latest update: 10 Jan 2022

Price: free, Pro version is available for $19.99

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

It acts good as a media player, easy to upload and switch videos on a playlist window… Surprised to find out that there is an in-app purchased convert function, just like a light video converter, which includes all the popular formats and devices, it is totally enough for normal use — Christine_TB, Mac App Store

Pros

Good performance with UHD video
Can convert video and audio

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.

Latest update: Oct 24, 2023

Price: free, upgrade to VIP is for $9.99

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Versatile video player. Play almost any video format. Many other useful functions are implemented in it. Wish I can play or pause the video by using mouse click anywhere on video display — Magneto1218, Mac App Store

Pros

Highly customizable
Free to use
Has some unique features

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.

Latest update: Nov 02, 2023

Price: free

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, etc.

I have been using VLC for the last 10 years and no other media player has ever come close to delivering the performance that VLC has provided. Apart from the performance, it is so lightweight that it can work easily on a dusty 5-year-old computer with the same efficiency as on any latest computer — Trustpilot

Pros

Massive amount of settings
Plays almost any file
No hidden costs

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.

Scroll to view more


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

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How do I play MKV files on my Mac?

Download Elmedia Player .dmg from this site.
Install and open the app.
Using Finder, drag the file to the Elmedia Player window, or use the context menu and choose Elmedia in the “Open With” dialog.

Elmedia Player Free

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Requirements

Requirements: OS X 10.12+

Latest version

Latest version: v8.17(3393), released 29 Nov, 2023 Release notes

Top Mac MKV Players in 2024

Important Mac .mkv Player Features

1. MKV Player for Macs - Elmedia Player

2. IINA Player

3. Cisdem Video Player

4. Omni Player

5. VideoLan Client (VLC)

Player Comparison Table

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