Open Source Plex AlternativesTop Media Centers & Media Servers like Plex

The best open source alternative to Plex is Kodi. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Plex and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Plex are Jellyfin, Universal Media Server, Meelo and Plezy.

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Most Plex alternatives are Media Servers, but you can also narrow the list to Media Centers or Audio Players. Other popular filters are Apple TV, Open Source, Android, Linux and Mac. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.
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Alternatives
Plex alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Kodi icon
     1572 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.

    114 Kodi alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2009

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    • Xbox
    • Apple TV
    • US flagUnited States
    Kodi screenshot 1
    Good alternative?
     
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    12
  2. Jellyfin icon
     396 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.

    106 Jellyfin alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • Self-Hosted
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    • Kindle Fire
    Good alternative?
     
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    18
  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.

    60 Universal Media Server alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2012

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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    4
  4. Meelo icon
     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

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2025

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Docker
    Good alternative?
     
  5. Plezy icon
     9 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.

    32 Plezy alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Debian
    • Ubuntu
    • Arch Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Android Tablet
    Good alternative?
     
  6. Music Assistant icon
     16 likes

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

    12 Music Assistant alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    Good alternative?
     
  7. OSMC icon
     81 likes

    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 and the Internet. OSMC is the leading media center in terms of feature set and community and is based...

    47 OSMC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2015

    Platforms

    • Apple TV
    • Raspberry Pi
    Good alternative?
     
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    2
  8. MediaChips icon
     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.

    54 MediaChips alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2021

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Docker
    Good alternative?
     
  9. 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.

    123 Ampache alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2010

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Cloudron
    Good alternative?
     
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    2
  10. Streama icon
     15 likes

    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 (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  11. LibreELEC icon
     24 likes

    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.

    12 LibreELEC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2016

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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