Plex AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Media Centers

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

    1562 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. 

   

   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
6. 

   

   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.

   136 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
8. 

   

   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?

    
9. 

   

   JRiver Media Center

    41 likes

   JRiver Media Center is a multimedia application that allows the user to play and organize various types of media on a computer.

   66 JRiver Media Center alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Paid
   • Proprietary

   Application typeApplication types

   • Audio Player
   • Media Player

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux

   • United States

   

   

   

   +1

   

   More about JRiver Media Center  

   

   Good alternative?Is JRiver Media Center a good alternative to Plex?

    
10. 

    

    MediaChips

     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.

    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?

     
11. 

    

    Ampache

     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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Music Streaming
    • Audio Player

    Origin

    • Germany
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Cloudron

    • Germany
    • EU

    

    

    

    +5

    

    More about Ampache  

    

    Good alternative?Is Ampache a good alternative to Plex?

     

    |

    2comments

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    Ampache vs Plex Comments

    Negative comment by Guest · Feb 25, 2018

    Ampache is an audio server, while plex supports both audio and video (and it is heavily focused on video streaming)

    Negative comment by Guest · Aug 7, 2021

    Ampache is an audio server only, which is only a small subset of what Plex does, and not even Plex's primary focus.

    2 of 2 comments

    

    

    • Ampache is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Ampache is a Music Streaming Plex is a Media Server
12. 

    

    OSMC

     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 typeApplication types

    • Media Center
    • Audio Player

    Platforms

    • Apple TV
    • Raspberry Pi

    

    More about OSMC  

    

    Good alternative?Is OSMC a good alternative to Plex?

     

    |

    2comments

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    OSMC vs Plex Comments

    Negative comment by Guest · Jul 6, 2016

    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.

    Negative comment by Guest · Nov 26, 2017

    totally different piece of software

    2 of 2 comments

    

    

    • OSMC is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
    • OSMC is a Media Center Plex is a Media Server
13. 

    

    OpenELEC

     55 likes

    Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center (OpenELEC) is a small Linux based Just Enough Operating System (JeOS) built from scratch as a platform to turn your computer into a Kodi (previously XBMC) media center.

    12 OpenELEC alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application typeApplication types

    • Media Center
    • Media Player

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Raspberry Pi

    

    

    

    More about OpenELEC  

    

    Good alternative?Is OpenELEC a good alternative to Plex?

     
14. 

    

    Finamp

     8 likes

    Finamp is a Jellyfin music player. Its main feature is the ability to download songs for offline listening.

    34 Finamp alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MPL-2.0)

    Application type

    • Audio Player

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid

    

    

    

    More about Finamp  

    

    Good alternative?Is Finamp a good alternative to Plex?