# VLC media player

> Free, open-source, cross-platform multimedia player for all formats. (iPhone/iPad app by VideoLAN.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vlc-media-player/id650377962 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [VideoLAN](https://appshunter.io/developer/599606329)
- Category: Photo & Video, Entertainment
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 3.70/5 from 5,780 App Store ratings · 1,286 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 186 MB
- Languages: British English, Afrikaans, Arabic, Basque, Belarusian, Bosnian, Breton, Khmer, Catalan, Corsican and 38 more
- Released: 2013-07-19
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vlc-media-player/id650377962/reviews.md

## What is VLC media player?

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player.
It can play all your movies, shows and music in most formats directly without conversion.
It allows file synchronization with Dropbox, GDrive, OneDrive, Box, iCloud Drive, iTunes, direct downloads and through Wi-Fi sharing as well as streaming from SMB, FTP, SFTP, NFS, UPnP/DLNA media servers and the web.
VLC offers support for advanced subtitles including full SSA compatibility, multi-track audio, playback speed control and rendering through Chromecast.

VLC is completely free and open source.

## Key features

- Plays all video and audio formats
- No file conversion needed
- Cloud and network streaming
- Advanced subtitle support
- Playback speed control
- Chromecast rendering

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Small Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Micro Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Huge Tip | $14.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #35 in Top Free · Photo & Video (US App Store)

## What do users think of VLC media player?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 🚀 Plays everything
- 👍 Great for offline media
- 🔒 No ads or subscriptions
- 🚀 Convenient file transfer
- 👍 Customizable playback

**Cons**

- 🐛 Buggy after updates
- 🔋 Drains battery
- 👎 Confusing UI/UX
- 🐛 Unreliable network streaming
- 👎 Lacks basic features

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Playback issues with certain codecs
- Crashes when accessing network shares
- Inconsistent shuffle/repeat behavior
- Subtitle sync problems
- Deleted files not freeing up storage

**Most requested features**

- Picture-in-Picture mode
- Improved playlist management
- Folder-based organization
- Lyrics support
- Chromecast integration

## Recent user reviews (10 of 1,286)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vlc-media-player/id650377962/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Good, needs PiP

*2026-08-26, version 3.7.3*

Good app, works well. Just needs Picture in Picture

### 1/5 — Plays anything but..

*2026-08-20, version 3.7.3*

Pros: There isn’t any video or music file this can’t play. CONS: Awful, awful, AWFUL user interface. Small skip buttons. Gestures to skip don’t reliably work.

### 3/5 — Meh

*2026-08-20, version 3.7.3*

I use the app to listen to audio files and this app has a weird issues where it skips the first second of the song and it’s really annoying because that’s my only issues with the app.

### 4/5 — We need this update

*2026-08-19, version 3.7.3*

The app is good for looking at files and playing old video files from 2001 that windows media player doesn't support but there's one issue. I want to watch DVDs on my iPad and I don't know how to do that on VLC mobile. Can you fix that?

### 5/5 — Sync with Photos App??

*2026-08-19, version 3.7.3*

VLC has been one of my go to, opensource, video apps for over a decade on my Macs. I just downloaded it for iOS and love all the fratures it has, but is still missing a critical, seemingly obvious, integration with the native Apple Photos app. It would be great if VLC could recognize media content in the Photos app and even be able to view albums as playlists. 

I’m still giving the app 5 stars, but hopefully they will add this feature soon!

### 3/5 — M3u playlist Oddities

*2026-08-18, version 3.7.3*

The IOS version of VLC is the only viable alternative we have to Apple Music, but the fact that my .m3u playlists aren’t importing correctly is a huge bummer. 

VLC can see and even read them, but only one or two songs actually populate in the playlists (when there are more like 10 or more in the playlist) and I genuinely cannot figure out why. It would be so nice if this could be fixed, or if the way to fix it was more obvious. 

I want to be able to update my playlists on my Linux PC and then copy the updated playlists onto my iPhone to sync them. It just does not seem reliable or stable atm. I hate manually remaking my playlists. Please find a way to streamline this and make it more accessible

### 2/5 — could be better

*2026-08-17, version 3.7.3*

would be better if airplay allowed video to play rather than just audio at present the only option is to screen mirror which uses much more battery and is impractical

### 1/5 — How has this app been so trash for so long

*2026-08-17, version 3.7.3*

How has this app been so trash for so long

### 2/5 — DLNA GONE

*2026-08-16, version 3.7.3*

VLC no longer supports streaming from dlna servers. I used it all the time on iPad.
No matter what I reboot or re-install, DLNA servers no longer show up in the new VLC app. The documentation only mentions SMB, FTP, and PLEX as server options it will connect with. Have always loved VLC and still use it on my PC. Especially to find subtitles to embed in video. Its brilliant.
Ugh….I didn’t say uPnP support was gone…I said support for DLNA was gone.

### 1/5 — App experience

*2026-08-15, version 3.7.3*

They don’t push updates now . It is currently buggy and wrost now

## Frequently asked questions about VLC media player

### What can VLC media player do?

VLC media player is a free and open-source application that can play virtually all video and audio files directly without requiring conversion. It also supports streaming from various cloud services, network servers, and the web, along with advanced subtitle features and playback controls.

### What are the key features of VLC media player?

Key features include the ability to play all media formats without conversion, file synchronization with popular cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, streaming from network servers (SMB, FTP, UPnP/DLNA), advanced subtitle support with full SSA compatibility, multi-track audio, playback speed control, and Chromecast rendering.

### Is VLC media player free to use?

Yes, VLC media player is completely free and open source. There are no hidden costs, in-app purchases, or advertisements associated with its use.

### What devices is VLC media player compatible with?

VLC media player is a cross-platform application, meaning it is available on a wide range of operating systems and devices, including desktop computers (Windows, macOS, Linux) and mobile devices (Android, iOS).

### What are common use cases for VLC media player?

Common use cases include playing obscure or high-definition video files that other players struggle with, watching movies and TV shows directly from network-attached storage (NAS) devices, streaming media from cloud storage, and enjoying music with advanced playback options.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.7.3 — 2026-04-24

· stability improvements
· fix expansion of playlists stored on the network

### 3.7.2 — 2026-03-30

· add footer view to album collection to show more metadata
· close playback screen when session ends
· misc. performance and stability improvements
· various smaller UI improvements notably on iOS 9 and 12
· fix crash when enabling CarPlay with very large media libaries
· export smaller snapshots to the Spotlight service to decrease the memory impact
· fix opening very large files from within the Files app

### 3.7.1 — 2026-01-22

· fix playback regression introduced in the last update
· fix playback of media stored outside the application context
· fix shortcut actions on the app icon on cold start
· fix hangs on playback end and when sharing the library on the local network

### 3.7.0 — 2026-01-08

· update to libvlc 3.0.23 including many security and stability improvements
· improve user interface behavior on iOS 26
· fix keyboard control on iPadOS 26
· fix shortcut actions on the app icon on iOS 13 and above
· fix behavior in multi-window environment on iPadOS 26

### 3.6.8 — 2025-10-01

· Add pCloud support
· Fix favorites alert actions
· Fix automatic color theme update

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*