Plex AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Media Servers

The best Media Server alternative to Plex is Jellyfin, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Plex and many of them are Media Servers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Media Server alternatives to Plex are Emby, Kodi, Universal Media Server and Infuse.

filter to find the best alternatives

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, Apple TV 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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Get a badge for your sitePlex alternatives page was last updated Aug 6, 2026

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
Good alternative?Is Jellyfin a good alternative to Plex?

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18comments
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
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
Good alternative?Is Emby a good alternative to Plex?

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7comments
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
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
Good alternative?Is Kodi a good alternative to Plex?

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12comments
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
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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
Good alternative?Is this a good alternative to Plex?

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4comments
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
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
Good alternative?Is Infuse a good alternative to Plex?

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1comment
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
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
Good alternative?Is Meelo a good alternative to Plex?
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
Good alternative?Is Serviio a good alternative to Plex?
MiniDLNA
48 likes
MiniDLNA (aka ReadyDLNA) is server software with the aim of being fully compliant with DLNA/UPnP-AV clients. It is developed by a NETGEAR employee …
35 MiniDLNA alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Media Server
Platforms
Linux
Termux
Terminal
Good alternative?Is MiniDLNA a good alternative to Plex?

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2comments
MiniDLNA vs Plex Comments
Positive comment by Guest · Sep 17, 2017
Plex is too commercial too many nags - also smart tv apps are variable SAMSUNG smart tv app hasn't worked for years :(
Negative comment by Guest · Dec 21, 2017
Overly complicated and conditional 'compiling' required. A very out-dated approach for today. Much as I hate Plex, this doesn't come close to its convenience, power, and simplicity in execution.
2 of 2 comments
MiniDLNA is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
LibreELEC
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 typeApplication types
Audio Player
Media Player
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Linux
Germany
EU
Good alternative?Is LibreELEC a good alternative to Plex?
Streama
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 typeApplication types
Media Server
Movie Streaming
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Windows
Linux
Self-Hosted
Germany
EU
+3
Good alternative?Is Streama a good alternative to Plex?

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1comment
Streama vs Plex Comments
Positive comment by Guest · Apr 25, 2018
Streama is very like Netflix
1 of 1 comments
Streama is Free and Open SourcePlex is Freemium and Proprietary
nextPVR
11 likes
NextPVR. NextPVR is a popular free personal video recorder application for Microsoft Windows, making it easy to watch or record Live TV.
20 nextPVR alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application type
Media Server
Platforms
Windows
Mac
Linux
Docker
+1
Good alternative?Is nextPVR a good alternative to Plex?
Nero MediaHome
6 likes
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 optical discs, enhancing the experience with music and templates.
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
Disc Burner
DVD Copying
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Windows
Android
iPhone
Germany
EU
Good alternative?Is Nero MediaHome a good alternative to Plex?

12 of 39 Plex alternatives

Plex AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Media Servers

Alternatives list

Jellyfin

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Emby

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Kodi

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Universal Media Server

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Infuse

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Meelo

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Serviio

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MiniDLNA

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LibreELEC

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Streama

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nextPVR

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Nero MediaHome

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