The Best Open Source Plex AlternativesTop Media Servers & Media Centers like Plex

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

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Plex alternatives are mainly Media Servers, but if you're looking for Media Centers or Audio Players you can filter on that. 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.
Plex iconPlex
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Stream movies, TV shows, sports, and music while organizing and playing all your personal media libraries with a visually stunning interface.

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Plex alternatives page was last updated May 25, 2025
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  1. Jellyfin icon

    Jellyfin

     295 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.

    44 Jellyfin alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Flathub
    • Tizen OS
    • F-Droid
    • Android TV
    • Kodi
    • Docker
    • Fire TV
    • Roku
    Jellyfin screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Media Streaming
    2.  Media Server
    3.  Local server
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Media Center
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Media Transcoding
    8.  Support for DLNA
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  Kids Mode

    Jellyfin VS Plex

     
    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
    Oct 5, 2019
    9

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

    Most Recent Comment
    obradk
    Feb 12, 2024
    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 Dec 23, 2023
    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.

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    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.

    44 Universal Media Server alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Universal Media Server screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Support for DLNA
    2.  Dedicated Server Hosting
    3.  Chromecast Support
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  File Tagging
    8.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Support for 4K
    11.  Media Transcoding
    12.  Simple installation

    Universal Media Server VS Plex

     
    Comments about Universal Media Server as an Alternative to Plex
    Most Recent Comment
    Jonathan Brickman
    Positive Nov 16, 2018
    3

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

    Guest
    Positive May 4, 2019
    4

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

    Guest
    Positive Jul 7, 2015
    0

    Works fine with Chromecast.

    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
    • Universal Media Server is LightweightPlex is not according to our users
  4. Navidrome icon

    Navidrome

     35 likes
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    Navidrome is an open source web-based music collection server and streamer. It gives you freedom to listen to your music collection from any browser or mobile device.

    62 Navidrome alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • BR flagBrazil

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Cloudron
    Navidrome screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Self-hosted music
    2.  Subsonic API
    3.  Media Transcoding
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  ListenBrainz scrobbling
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Lossless Audio
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  No registration required
    10. Last.fm icon  Integrated Last.fm scrobbler

    Navidrome VS Plex

     
  5. Meelo icon

    Meelo

     11 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.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    Meelo screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No Tracking
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Automatic Lyrics Finder
    5.  Musicbrainz support
    6.  Music collection

    Meelo VS Plex

     
  6. Music Assistant icon

    Music Assistant

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

    4 Music Assistant alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    Music Assistant screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Music Library
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Chromecast Support
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  No Tracking
    7. Spotify icon  Spotify integration
    8.  Subsonic API
    9. Deezer icon  Deezer integration
    10. Apple Music icon  Apple Music integration
    11. TIDAL icon  TIDAL integration

    Music Assistant VS Plex

     
  7. OSMC icon

    OSMC

     82 likes
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    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...

    43 OSMC alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Apple TV
    • Raspberry Pi
    OSMC screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Designed for TVs
    2.  Momentjs integration
    3.  Auto-identifies vids
    4.  Based on Debian
    5.  Stream video to Apple TV

    OSMC VS Plex

     
    Comments about OSMC as an Alternative to Plex
    Guest
    Negative Jul 6, 2016
    16

    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.

    Guest
    Negative Nov 26, 2017
    7

    totally different piece of software

    Plex Icon
    OSMC icon

    • Some users think OSMC is a great Plex alternative, some don't.

    • OSMC is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
    • OSMC is LightweightPlex is not according to our users
  9. Video Hub App icon

    Video Hub App

     23 likes
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    Browse, search, preview, and organize your videos.

    35 Video Hub App alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Thumbnails view

    Video Hub App Features

    1.  Indexed search
    2.  Catalog
    3.  File Organizer
    4.  Stream video to Apple TV

    Video Hub App VS Plex

     
7 of 41 Plex alternatives