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

The best free alternative to Plex is Jellyfin, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Plex and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Plex are Emby, Universal Media Server, Infuse and Meelo.

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Plex alternatives are mainly Media Servers, but if you're looking for Media Centers or Media Players you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Open Source, Linux, Mac, Chrome OS, Self-Hosted 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
     369 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.

    79 Jellyfin alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Flathub
    • Tizen OS
    • F-Droid
    • Android TV
    • Cloudron
    • Kodi
    • Docker
    • Fire TV
    • Roku
     
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    18
  2. Emby icon
     174 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.

    55 Emby alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Windows Phone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Apple TV
    • Kindle Fire
    • Cloudron
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
     
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    7
  3. 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.

    52 Universal Media Server alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    4
  4. Infuse icon
     54 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.

    129 Infuse alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Apple TV
    • visionOS
     
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    1
  5. Meelo icon
     15 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

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  6. Elegant content manager for Apple devices, supporting discovery, organization, and browsing of personal audio and video libraries across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, with an interface designed for seamless navigation and privacy-focused local library management.

    5 Fusion Media Center alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Apple TV
     
  7. Serviio icon
     54 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.

    55 Serviio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  8. Plezy icon
     5 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.

    23 Plezy alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android TV
    • Fire TV
     
  9. Android TV icon
     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.

    51 Android TV alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Android TV
     
  10. Ampache icon
     62 likes

    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.

    112 Ampache alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Cloudron
     
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    2
  11. MediaChips icon
     19 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.

    41 MediaChips alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Docker
     
12 of 73 Plex alternatives