Plex Alternatives

    Plex is described as 'bridges the gap between your computer and your home theater, doing so with a visually appealing user interface that provides instant access to your media' and is one of the leading apps in the Video & Movies category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Plex for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, iPhone and Android. The best alternative is Emby, which is free. Other great apps like Plex are Jellyfin (Free, Open Source), Universal Media Server (Free, Open Source), Stremio (Freemium, Open Source) and Serviio (Freemium).

    The list of alternatives was last updated Feb 20, 2021
    Plex info, screenshots & reviewsAlternatives to Plex
    • 78 alternatives

    • Emby

      Media Center plugin that presents your media with a simple, intuitive, and fast interface. View 32 alternatives to Emby
      Most users think Emby is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Android Tablet
      • BSD
      • Windows Phone
      • iPad
      • Self-Hosted
      • Apple TV
      • Kindle Fire
      • Roku
      • Cloudron
      • Playstation
      • Xbox
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      Emby vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      Very good alternative to Plex media server and free multi-user (for Plex one needs a Plex account first and a Plex pass).
      Top positive comment  over 3 years ago

      Exactly like Plex, but without the central server for connections. Alos, takes longer for updating the files information for the first time. Has lot more configurations available.
      Top positive comment  almost 4 years ago

      dzevel5 Plex is horrible at consumer privacy! Emby just a perfect solution especially for NAS. While Plex logging and collecting data, Emby won’t and then device can go into sleep mode perfect.
      Positive comment • about 2 years ago

      A superb alternative to plex, much faster streaming start of the video over internet.
      Positive comment • about 2 years ago

      Dalcolli enable subtitle, imdb sync, and more
      Positive comment • over 3 years ago

      open source and self authentication
      Positive comment • almost 4 years ago

      don't need to authenticate with an outsource server, the problem emerges when a network like Iran filter the server like Iran and PLEX
      Positive comment • about 4 years ago

    • Jellyfin

      Jellyfin is a personal media server and client. View 14 alternatives to Jellyfin
      Almost everyone thinks Jellyfin is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Free • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • HP webOS
      • Chrome OS
      • Android Tablet
      • iPad
      • Self-Hosted
      • Google Chrome
      • Ungoogled Chromium
      • Mopidy
      • Cloudron
      • Kodi
      • Fire TV
      • Roku
      • Xbox
      • Firefox
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      Jellyfin vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
       all • positive • negative      relevance • date
      Jellyfin is a very nice project with much potential. Unfortunately it lacks many client apps; there is only an android app in development.
      Top positive comment  about 2 years ago

      latotale The future of Plex / Emby, just a question of time
      Top positive comment  about 1 year ago

      tijmen Jellyfin is actually open source, unlike Emby.
      Positive comment • 4 months ago

      FOSS, easy to set up, and easy to customize!
      Positive comment • 5 months ago

      tom967 True FOSS ! Works great on atomic pi.
      Positive comment • about 1 year ago

      seczamotu It's FOSS and they don't spy on you. No paywalls and 'Premium' packages. It's completely free.
      Positive comment • over 1 year ago

      free open source and has apps for all platforms
      Positive comment • over 1 year ago

      Show more comments ▾
      7 of 9 comments

    • Universal Media Server

      Universal Media Server is a DLNA-compliant UPnP Media Server. It was originally based on PS3 Media Server by shagrath. View 44 alternatives to Universal Media Server
      Most users think Universal Media Server is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Free • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
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      Universal Media Server vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      No faffing about and less intrusive and no personal data shared like plex does.
      Positive comment • about 2 years ago

      jebofponderworthy Extremely easy install. Completely seamless connection to Roku Media Player. Very lightweight, but fully functional.
      Positive comment • over 2 years ago

      Works fine with Chromecast.
      Positive comment • almost 6 years ago

      ums is only a dlna server but plex serves the clients with custom apps, video transcoding and other features.
      Negative comment • about 2 years ago

    • Stremio

      Media center allowing to watch movies, series, YouTube channels instantly. You can watch in HD, with subtitles, and easily cast any file to TV through DLNA, Chromecast, AppleTV! Stremio also gives you notifications for new episodes / movies. View 58 alternatives to Stremio
      This alternative is disputed. Stremio is still a legitimate alternative to Plex, but it might have issues that some users think are important.
      • Freemium • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Android Tablet
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      Stremio vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      Does not play local content, only paid online content.
      Negative comment • over 3 years ago

      Does't allow local content.
      Negative comment • about 2 years ago

    • Serviio

      Serviio is a free media server. It allows you to stream your media files (music, video or images) to any DLNA-certified renderer device (e.g. View 42 alternatives to Serviio
      Almost everyone thinks Serviio is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
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    • Ampache

      Ampache is a web based audio streaming application and file manager allowing you to access your music from anywhere, using almost any internet enabled device. View 72 alternatives to Ampache
      Some users think Ampache is a great alternative to Plex, some don't.
      • Free • Open Source
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Self-Hosted
      • PHP
      • Cloudron
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      Ampache vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      Ampache is an audio server, while plex supports both audio and video (and it is heavily focused on video streaming)
      Negative comment • about 3 years ago

    • Infuse

      Ignite your video content with Infuse – the beautiful way to watch almost any video format on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. No need to convert files! View 65 alternatives to Infuse
      Most users think Infuse is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • iPhone
      • iPad
      • Apple TV
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      Infuse vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      This is equivalent to other media players (like VLC etc.) not to streaming media servers like Plex.
      Negative comment • 8 months ago

    • Subsonic

      Subsonic is a free, web-based media streamer, providing ubiquitous access to your music and video. View 72 alternatives to Subsonic
      Most users think Subsonic is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Windows Phone
      • Self-Hosted
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    • MiniDLNA

      MiniDLNA (aka ReadyDLNA) is server software with the aim of being fully compliant with DLNA/UPnP-AV clients. It is developed by a NETGEAR employee … View 30 alternatives to MiniDLNA
      Almost everyone thinks MiniDLNA is a great alternative to Plex.
      • Free • Open Source
      • Linux
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      MiniDLNA vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      Plex is too commercial too many nags - also smart tv apps are variable SAMSUNG smart tv app hasn't worked for years :(
      Positive comment • over 3 years ago

      Overly complicated and conditional 'compiling' required. A very out-dated approach for today. Much as I hate Plex, this doesn't come close to its convenience, power, and simplicity in execution.
      Negative comment • over 3 years ago

    • OSMC

      OSMC (Open Source Media Center) is a free and open source media player based on Linux and founded in 2014 that lets you play back media from your local network, attached storage... View 36 alternatives to OSMC
      This alternative is disputed. OSMC is still a legitimate alternative to Plex, but it might have issues that some users think are important.
      • Free • Open Source
      • Apple TV
      • Raspberry Pi
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      OSMC vs Plex
      pros, cons and recent comments
      From the FAQ of the project: What is the difference between OSMC and Kodi? Kodi is a media center application and OSMC is the operating system that runs Kodi and brings it to your device. OSMC is not a fork of Kodi but rather a Linux distribution that ships Kodi as the main application.
      Negative comment • almost 5 years ago

      totally different piece of software
      Negative comment • over 3 years ago

    Showing 10 of 78 alternatives