The Best Free Plex AlternativesTop Media Servers & Media Centers like Plex

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   Jellyfin

    379 likes

   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.

   84 Jellyfin alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Server
   • Media Center

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad
   • Self-Hosted
   • Flathub
   • Tizen OS
   • F-Droid
   • Android TV
   • Cloudron
   • Kodi
   • Docker
   • Fire TV
   • Roku

   • United States

   

   

   

   +5

   

   More about Jellyfin  

   

   Good alternative?Is Jellyfin a good alternative to Plex?

    

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   18comments

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   Jellyfin vs Plex Comments

   Top Positive Comment by seczamotu · Oct 5, 2019

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

   Comment by obradk · Feb 12, 2024

   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.

   Positive comment by intp · Dec 23, 2023

   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.

   3 of 18 comments

   

   

   • Jellyfin is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
   • Jellyfin is Privacy focused and DecentralizedPlex is not according to our users
2. 

   

   Emby

    176 likes

   Emby, formerly Media Browser, is a media aggregator plugin for Media Center that takes your recorded, digital, or ripped media and presents it in a simple, easy to use interface. Emby prides itself on delivering a fast, intuitive, media rich experience for the whole family.

   61 Emby alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Proprietary

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Center
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • BSD
   • Windows Phone
   • iPad
   • Self-Hosted
   • Apple TV
   • Kindle Fire
   • Cloudron
   • Playstation
   • Xbox

   • United States

   

   

   

   +3

   

   More about Emby  

   

   Good alternative?Is Emby a good alternative to Plex?

    

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   7comments

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   Emby vs Plex Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Horaciogarro · Sep 14, 2015

   Is the exact alternative to Plex.+ web server!

   Positive comment by dzevel5 · Mar 30, 2019

   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 by Guest · Feb 28, 2019

   A superb alternative to plex, much faster streaming start of the video over internet.

   3 of 7 comments

   

   

   • Emby is Freemium and ProprietaryPlex is also Freemium and Proprietary
   • Emby is a Media Center Plex is a Media Server
4. 

   

   Kodi

    1563 likes

   Open-source media player compatible with Linux, Mac, Windows, Xbox, and iOS, designed for home theater PCs. Customizable with themes, supports 4K, audio and video formats, streaming, privacy-focused operations, and extensible with plugins.

   93 Kodi alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Center
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • BSD
   • iPad
   • Flathub
   • Flatpak
   • Raspberry Pi
   • Fire TV
   • Apple TV
   • HUAWEI AppGallery
   • Xbox
   • F-Droid

   • United States

   

   

   

   +8

   

   More about Kodi  

   

   Good alternative?Is Kodi a good alternative to Plex?

    

   |

   12comments

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   Kodi vs Plex Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Guest · Mar 5, 2019

   Kodi has way more functionalities than Plex

   Top Negative Comment by Guest · Nov 26, 2017

   kodi is not a media server, it's a media viewer not designed to share content

   Negative comment by fPortal · Sep 18, 2018

   It is not a media server. It is a player.

   3 of 12 comments

   

   

   • Kodi is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
   • Kodi is a Media Center Plex is a Media Server
   • Kodi is Privacy focusedPlex is not according to our users
5. Ad

   

   

   Nero MediaHome

   Comprehensive media manager for archiving, organizing, and playing files. It supports wireless transfer from devices, CD ripping with album art, and offers editing tools. Users can create slideshows, playlists, and burn them to o...

   https://www.nero.com

   Learn More
6. 

   

   Universal Media Server

    137 likes

   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.

   55 Universal Media Server alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Server
   • Video Streaming

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux

   • United States

   

   

   

   More about Universal Media Server  

   

   Good alternative?Is this a good alternative to Plex?

    

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   4comments

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   Universal Media Server vs Plex Comments

   Positive comment by Jonathan Brickman · Nov 16, 2018

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

   Positive comment by Guest · May 4, 2019

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

   Positive comment by Guest · Jul 7, 2015

   Works fine with Chromecast.

   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • Universal Media Server is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
7. 

   

   Infuse

    55 likes

   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! Infuse is optimized for iOS 12, with powerful streaming options, trakt sync, and unmatched AirPlay & subtitle support.

   137 Infuse alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Proprietary

   Application typeApplication types

   • Media Player
   • Media Server

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • iPhone
   • iPad
   • Apple TV
   • visionOS

   • United States

   

   

   

   More about Infuse  

   

   Good alternative?Is Infuse a good alternative to Plex?

    

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   1comment

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   Infuse vs Plex Comments

   Negative comment by Guest · Sep 27, 2020

   This is equivalent to other media players (like VLC etc.) not to streaming media servers like Plex.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Infuse is Freemium and ProprietaryPlex is also Freemium and Proprietary
   • Infuse is a Media Player Plex is a Media Server
9. 

   

   Meelo

    17 likes

   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 (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Server

   Platforms

   • Android
   • Self-Hosted
   • Docker
   • iPhone
   • iPad

   

   

   

   +3

   

   More about Meelo  

   

   Good alternative?Is Meelo a good alternative to Plex?

    
10. 

    

    Plezy

     8 likes

    Cross-platform media client with Flutter UI offering native performance and a visually streamlined interface, compatible with Plex and Jellyfin servers, enabling direct streaming, HDR and Dolby Vision playback, offline downloads, and minimal transcoding.

    25 Plezy alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Media Player

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android TV
    • Fire TV

    

    

    

    +4

    

    More about Plezy  

    

    Good alternative?Is Plezy a good alternative to Plex?

     
11. 

    

    Serviio

     53 likes

    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. a TV set, Bluray player, games console) on your home network.

    56 Serviio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application typeApplication types

    • Media Server
    • Video Streaming

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    

    

    

    More about Serviio  

    

    Good alternative?Is Serviio a good alternative to Plex?

     
12. 

    

    Music Assistant

     13 likes

    Turn your Home Assistant instance into a jukebox, hassle free streaming of your favorite media to Home Assistant media players.

    9 Music Assistant alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (Apache-2.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Music Streaming
    • Audio Player

    Origin

    • Switzerland

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux

    • Switzerland

    

    

    More about Music Assistant  

    

    Good alternative?Is Music Assistant a good alternative to Plex?

     
13. 

    

    Android TV

     17 likes

    Android TV is Google’s operating system for smart TVs and streaming devices. Android TV makes it easier for people to watch, play and do everything they love on their TV.

    52 Android TV alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application typeApplication types

    • Media Center
    • Operating System

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Android TV

    • United States

    

    

    More about Android TV  

    

    Good alternative?Is Android TV a good alternative to Plex?

     
14. 

    

    MediaChips

     20 likes

    MediaChips is a desktop app for organizing local media libraries. It helps you tag, filter, preview, and browse videos, images, audio, and text files that already live on your disks or NAS — with no accounts, no cloud, and no data collection.

    46 MediaChips alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Media Manager
    • Media Player

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Docker

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about MediaChips  

    

    Good alternative?Is MediaChips a good alternative to Plex?

     
15. 

    

    Subsonic

     93 likes

    Subsonic is a free, web-based media streamer, providing ubiquitous access to your music and video. Use it to share your music with friends, or to listen to your own music while at work. You can stream to multiple players simultaneously, for instance to one player in your kitchen...

    104 Subsonic alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    • Music Streaming

    Origin

    • Norway

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Windows Phone
    • Self-Hosted

    • Norway

    

    

    

    +7

    

    More about Subsonic  

    

    Good alternative?Is Subsonic a good alternative to Plex?

     

    |

    1comment

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    Subsonic vs Plex Comments

    Negative comment by Guest · Feb 17, 2023

    No video server. Just music.

    1 of 1 comments

    

    

    • Subsonic is Freemium and ProprietaryPlex is also Freemium and Proprietary
    • Subsonic is a Music Streaming Plex is a Media Server