Best SWF Players for Windows and Mac – Especially for you, we have prepared an original selection of the most convenient ways to view multimedia in a Small Web Format in 2022.
SWF (short for Small Web Format) is a compressed file format that has long been used to store interactive multimedia content on websites.
| Player name | Operating system | Price |
|---|---|---|
| SMPlayer | Windows, Linux | is free |
| KMPlayer | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | is free |
| PotPlayer | Windows | is free |
| GOM player | Windows, Mac | is free; ad-free version – $25 |
| 5KPlayer | Windows, Mac | is free |
| Free SWF.max Player | Windows | is free |
| SWF File Player | Windows | is free |
| Elmedia Player | Mac | free, extended version from $19.95 |
Table of Contents
8 Best SWF Players for Windows and Mac
SMPlayer
Versions: Windows, Linux
License cost: distributed free of charge under the GPL license
SMPlayer plays almost all existing video formats. Moreover, the codecs necessary to start viewing are built into the installation file of the program, which is very convenient – download, install, use.
Advantages
- Free
- Built-in audio and video codecs, including for SWF
- Memorizing settings for playing files
Flaws
- Outdated interface
- Mac version missing
- No built-in converter
PotPlayer
Versions: Windows
License cost: distributed free of charge under the GPL license
PotPlayer with built-in DXVA codecs plays SWF in the highest possible quality for the format. The program has the function of recording an audio track from any file being played, which can be useful when you need to extract sound from a video for some purpose.
Advantages
- Free
- Built-in audio and video codecs, including for SWF
Flaws
- Hasn’t been updated since 2018
- Mac and Linux versions missing
KMPlayer
Versions: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
License cost: distributed free of charge under the GPL license
KMPlayer is a free player from Korean developers with its own codec pack and skins. It is convenient to watch SWF with rewind and without freezing during playback, but for some files, codecs will have to be downloaded separately.
Advantages
- Versions of most popular operating systems
- Free codecs on the official website
Flaws
- Interface overloaded with features
- To play SWF you need to download additional codecs
GOM player
Versions : Windows, Mac
License cost : Free, plus version without ads for $25
The GOM Player is presented by the developer in free and paid versions, you will have to pay for the lack of ads and buffering. The program has all the necessary codecs, SWF can be rewound and assembled into playlists for the convenience of sequential viewing. Also, the player is useful for watching videos in most popular extensions.
Advantages
- There is a free version
- Built-in codec pack
Flaws
- Advertising in the free version
- No version for Linux and mobile OS
- No official Russification
5KPlayer
Versions : Mac, Windows
License cost : free
5KPlayer is one of the few modern players for Mac and Windows with a user-friendly interface, adapted for combined touch screen devices, and a large set of features in one free program. In addition to playing video and audio, the program also has the ability to download videos from popular video hosting sites YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo.
Advantages
- Free
- Supports downloading videos from YouTube and other sites
Flaws
- No Linux version
- No Russification
Free SWF.max Player
Versions : Windows
License cost : free
Free SWF.max Player is designed specifically for viewing flash videos. Despite the fact that the program for 2022 looks rather modest, it has all the features of a traditional media player: support for ready-made and personally compiled playlists, playback control, search, hotkeys, and batch editing of file data.
Advantages
- Free
- Supports playlists
- Plays SWF without additional codecs
Flaws
- Only works with SWF
- No versions for OS other than Windows
- Outdated interface
SWF File Player
Versions: Windows
License cost: free
SWF File Player is an old but still working program for opening SWF. In it, you can not only watch videos in an outdated format but also run some flash games from the early 2000s. At the same time, there is nothing superfluous in the software: only opening and viewing, no hot keys, additional options and plug-ins.
Advantages
- Free
- Supports running some flash games
Flaws
- Not updated
- Primitive interface
- No rewind and other important convenience features
Elmedia Player
Versions: Mac
License cost: free, there is an extended version
Elmedia Player is a Flash player for Mac with a decent basic set of SWF/FLV playback capabilities. developers have invested in it the ability to view videos and animations of modern and outdated formats, while the program is free and regularly updated.
Advantages
- Free
- Supports viewing SWF/FLV and other video files
Flaws
- Mac Only
- To fine-tune the playback mode, you need to buy an extended version
How to open SWF on a Computer without a player
Many players today do not open SWF, and over time, regularly updated programs that support this format will become even less.
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In order not to lose the opportunity to watch your favorite animation from the times of Rick & Morty, Gravity Falls, The Simpsons, South Park, Bojack Horseman, Archer, The Venture Bros, Masyanya, and Happy Tree Friends, you can convert files from SWF to MP4, AVI or any other video format. This will allow you to do without downloading special players.
Try Movavi’s SWF converter, which is not demanding on hardware resources – it does not take much time to convert old files to videos with a more popular extension in the 2020s and does not require professional computer skills from you.
How to open SWF online
Until 2022, playing SWF video in the browser was not a problem. However, now that the Adobe Flash Player plug-in is no longer supported, and most of the sites have switched to new technological solutions, it will no longer be possible to open the SWF file in the browser.
The file must either be converted to another format or played in an application installed on a computer or smartphone that supports the required codecs. Perhaps the only way you could open the SWF file online is if you have an outdated version of your browser and Flash Player. Below we offer you the most up-to-date way to open a SWF file in a browser.
How to open SWF in Browser
When you need to open literally one or two SWFs in a browser on a PC or an Android or iOS smartphone and there is not the slightest desire to waste time studying complex interfaces, you can take a simpler online tool – Video Converter Online. It is also suitable for batch conversion of small SWFs – up to 1 GB – hosted in cloud storages.
Unlike the services listed above, Video Converter Online supports uploading and downloading files to the Google/Dropbox cloud – ideal if you do not want to load the Internet channel or when you have paid traffic. Also, with the help of Video Converter Online, it is possible to convert individual fragments of SWF files to any popular video format with fine-tuning of the resolution and quality of the result.
Outcome
With the demise of the Flash Player project, an entire era of interactive animations and short videos, especially popular in a time when traffic was expensive, data transfer speeds were low, and any multimedia on the Internet was perceived as a miracle, ended.
For everyone who is not yet ready to say goodbye to the collection of flash drives that were once downloaded from the network, via WAP or via infrared, there are two options: convert videos to current formats or review them in players that have not yet removed support for SWF.
It is more practical to use a converter so as not to install special players for SWF on your computer. In this case, you can choose between an online service and a program: the first option is more profitable for one-time conversions of small flash drives, the second – for a large number of large files.