Plex AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Media Servers

The best open source Media Server alternative to Plex is Jellyfin. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Plex and 18 are open source Media Servers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Media Server alternatives to Plex are Universal Media Server, Meelo, MiniDLNA and Streama.

filter to find the best alternatives

Plex alternatives are mainly Media Servers, but if you're looking for Media Centers or Audio Players you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Android, Linux, Mac, Chrome OS, Free and iPhone. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Plex.
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Alternatives list

  1. Jellyfin icon

    Jellyfin

     328 likes
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    A free, open-source media system alternative to proprietary options like Emby and Plex, with Chromecast support, 4K streaming, plugin extensions, focusing on privacy without premium features, managing media from dedicated servers to multiple devices via various apps.

    50 Jellyfin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Flathub
    • Tizen OS
    • F-Droid
    • Android TV
    • Kodi
    • Docker
    • Fire TV
    • Roku
    • Cloudron
    Jellyfin screenshot 1
     
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    18
    126
    Comments about Jellyfin as an Alternative to Plex
    Comment summary: Jellyfin is praised for being a free, open-source alternative to Plex, offering increased privacy without requiring a cloud account. It's appreciated for customization, ease of setup, and lack of paywalls. However, users note challenges with certain devices and that Jellyfin is currently less polished than Plex, though improvements are underway. Its functionality and privacy features are highlighted as major strengths.
    Top Positive Comment
    seczamotu
    9

    It's FOSS and they don't spy on you. No paywalls and 'Premium' packages. It's completely free.

    obradk
    0

    It would be ok except it's impossible to disable transcoding and have decent subtitles. It's slow, but it's FOSS and it's not trying to upsell you at all times.

    intp
    Positive
    0

    Certainly a viable free, open-source alternative, but be advised that getting it working with a Roku, for example, can be a lot more challenging for less tech savvy users.

    Show more comments
    3 of 18 comments
    Plex Icon
    Jellyfin icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Jellyfin is a great Plex alternative.

    • Jellyfin is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Plex.

    • Jellyfin is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Plex.

    • Jellyfin is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Jellyfin is Privacy focusedPlex is not according to our users
  2. Universal Media Server icon

    Universal Media Server

     133 likes
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    Universal Media Server is a media server capable of serving videos, audio and images to any DLNA-capable device. It supports any device capable of DLNA and runs on all major operating systems: Windows, OS X and Linux.

    46 Universal Media Server alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Universal Media Server screenshot 1
     
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    4
    37
    Comments about Universal Media Server as an Alternative to Plex
    Jonathan Brickman
    Positive
    3

    Extremely easy install. Completely seamless connection to Roku Media Player. Very lightweight, but fully functional.

    Guest
    Positive
    4

    No faffing about and less intrusive and no personal data shared like plex does.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Works fine with Chromecast.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    Plex Icon
    Universal Media Server icon

    • Most users think Universal Media Server is a great Plex alternative.

    • Universal Media Server is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
  4. Meelo icon

    Meelo

     13 likes
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    A versatile self-hosted music server offering music video access, B-Side and rare track identification, extensive format support via transcoding, and detailed metadata parsing. Additional features include automatic 'featuring' detection, song version browsing, and genre retrieval through platforms like MusicBrainz.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    Meelo screenshot 1
     
  5. MiniDLNA icon

    MiniDLNA

     48 likes
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    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 …

    30 MiniDLNA alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Termux
    • Terminal
    MiniDLNA screenshot 1
     
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    2
    11
    Comments about MiniDLNA as an Alternative to Plex
    Guest
    Positive
    3

    Plex is too commercial too many nags - also smart tv apps are variable SAMSUNG smart tv app hasn't worked for years :(

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -8

    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.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Plex Icon
    MiniDLNA icon

    • Most users think MiniDLNA is a great Plex alternative.

    • MiniDLNA is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
  6. Streama icon

    Streama

     14 likes
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    Ever had a huge bookshelf full of shows and movies? Ever wanted to digitalize them, but didn't have a good way of organizing the files? Worry no more! Streama is your own personal Netflix for just such a purpose!

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Streama screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Streama as an Alternative to Plex
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Streama is very like Netflix

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Plex Icon
    Streama icon
    • Streama is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
  7. LibreELEC icon

    LibreELEC

     26 likes
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    LibreELEC is ‘Just enough OS’ for Kodi, a Linux distribution built to run Kodi on current and popular mediacentre hardware. We are an evolution of the popular OpenELEC project. LibreELEC software will be familiar to OpenELEC users.

    11 LibreELEC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    LibreELEC screenshot 1
     
  9. PS3 Media Server icon

    PS3 Media Server

     70 likes
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    PS3 Media Server is a DLNA compliant Upnp Media Server for the PS3, written in Java, with the purpose of streaming or transcoding.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    GUI
     
  10. Airsonic icon

    Airsonic

     9 likes
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    Airsonic is a Free and Open Source community driven media server which allows you to stream, transcode, manage, and share your personal audio from anywhere via an HTML web browser or any number of apps (available for both iOS & Android).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Online
    Airsonic screenshot 1
     
  11. Oblecto icon

    Oblecto

     4 likes
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    Oblecto is a media server, similar to Plex, Emby, Netflix and others. It runs in the background on a home server to index your media such as movies and TV shows to make them searchable and streamable through a REST based interface.

    52 Oblecto alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    Oblecto screenshot 1
     
  12. MediaTomb icon

    MediaTomb

     28 likes
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    MediaTomb is an open source (GPL) UPnP MediaServer with a nice web user interface, it allows you to stream your digital media through your home network and listen to/watch it on a variety of UPnP compatible devices.

    30 MediaTomb alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    MediaTomb screenshot 1
     
  13. MythTV icon

    MythTV

     83 likes
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    MythTV is a free, open source media center and digital video recorder (DVR) distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL. With its plugin architecture, MythTV can be transformed into a home media center suite, capable of managing your personal photo, video, and music collections...

    42 MythTV alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    MythTV screenshot 1
     
  14. Rygel icon

    Rygel

     12 likes
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    Rygel is a home media solution that allows you to easily share audio, video and pictures, and control of media player on your home network. In technical terms it is both a UPnP AV MediaServer and MediaRenderer implemented through a plug-in mechanism.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Rygel media-server preferences dialog
     
12 of 18 Plex alternatives