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Plex

The best-known personal media server, with polished apps on almost every TV, phone and console.

Free plan + paidSelf-hostableMedia servers
Visit PlexSee 7 alternatives
Verified facts
4 of 4
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About Plex

Plex turns a computer, NAS or NVIDIA Shield holding your movies, shows, music and photos into a personal streaming service. Plex Media Server scans your folders, fetches artwork and metadata, and streams to Plex apps on smart TVs, streaming sticks, consoles, phones and the web, transcoding on the fly when a device cannot play a file. Its main draw is polish: the apps are everywhere and easy for non-technical family members, and Plexamp is a well-liked music player. Streaming at home is free. Watching your own media remotely now needs either a Remote Watch Pass or Plex Pass, the full subscription that adds hardware transcoding, downloads, skip intro, live TV and DVR and more, available monthly, yearly or as a lifetime purchase. Plex also mixes in its own free ad-supported movies and live TV. Critics point to that push towards Plex's own content, the move to paywall remote playback, and the fact that sign-in runs through Plex's cloud even for local use.

Best for: Households that want the most polished apps on every device with minimal fuss.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Apps on nearly every TV, console and phone
  • Easy setup and friendly for non-technical users
  • Strong metadata, Plexamp music app and DVR

Why people leave

  • Remote streaming of your own media now needs a paid pass
  • Accounts and sign-in depend on Plex's cloud
  • Interface pushes Plex's own ad-supported content

Top Plex alternatives

See all 7
  1. 1Jellyfin logo
    Jellyfin

    Free and open source with no account or paywall, including remote streaming and hardware transcoding.

    66.5
  2. 2Emby logo
    Emby

    A similar polished server with a cheaper lifetime Premiere licence.

    62.6
  3. 3Kodi logo
    Kodi

    A local media centre with full control and no cloud account at all.

    59.6
  4. 4Channels DVR logo
    Channels DVR

    A strong pick if live TV and DVR are the main reasons you use Plex.

    57.2
  5. 5Navidrome logo
    Navidrome

    A lightweight replacement for Plex's music features.

    55.3

Why people left Plex

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Reviews

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Plex: common questions

Is Plex free?

Plex has a free plan and paid plans. Free plan: Yes, streaming at home (checked on Plex's own site).

Is Plex open source?

No, Plex is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Jellyfin, Kodi and Navidrome.

What platforms does Plex run on?

Plex is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, iOS and Android.

What are the best alternatives to Plex?

The highest-ranked Plex alternatives right now are Jellyfin, Emby and Kodi. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 7 Plex alternatives