Download VLC for Android (Google Play & F-Droid)
Official VLC for Android — free, open-source media player from VideoLAN. Get it from Google Play or F-Droid, with install notes for Android TV boxes and tablets.
Official Download — No Bundle · VLC 3.0.23 · ~45 MB (Play) / ~40 MB (F-Droid)
Official Download — No Bundle — VLC 3.0.23Note: videolan.org · Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and later
VLC for Android is the same open-source player as the desktop version — it plays virtually any format, supports hardware decoding, subtitles and streaming, and works on phones, tablets and Android TV. The recommended source is Google Play; F-Droid offers a version built from source without Google dependencies.
On this page
Available builds
| Build | File | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play | com.videolan.vlc | Recommended for most users. |
| F-Droid | org.videolan.vlc | Open-source store; releases may lag slightly. |
| APK (direct) | https://get.videolan.org/vlc-android/ | Official APK archive on videolan.org. |
System requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| OS | Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or newer |
| CPU | ARMv7, ARM64 or x86; ARM64 recommended |
| RAM | 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended |
| GPU | Any GPU with MediaCodec / OMX support |
| Storage | ~150 MB free for media cache |
| Extras | Android TV support built in (same APK) |
Install steps
Step 1Step 1 — Install from Google Play or F-Droid
Search "VLC" on Google Play (publisher: VideoLabs / VideoLAN). Or install F-Droid and search "VLC". Both are official. Avoid APK sites that bundle ads — if you must sideload, use the official APK archive at get.videolan.org/vlc-android.
Step 2Step 2 — Grant media permissions
On first launch, allow access to media (Android 13+ uses per-file permissions). If you want VLC to see all folders, grant "All files access" when prompted.
Step 3Step 3 — Configure hardware acceleration
Settings → Hardware acceleration: keep "Automatic" (or "Decoding" if you hit playback issues). For audio output, Settings → Audio → Audio output → "OpenSL ES" is a good fallback on older devices.