# Alternatives to Plex

Polished media server with apps everywhere.

Plex is one of 11 apps in Media servers; its Alt Score is still building. It is proprietary and freemium. None of its 10 checklist rows are verified yet.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/plex/
Category: Media servers

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: People with a personal collection of movies, TV shows, music, or photos who want a centralized way to organize and stream it to any device, as well as casual viewers looking for free ad-supported movies, shows, and live TV.
- **What you get**: Plex Media Server organizes your personal media files with metadata, artwork, and playback across phones, TVs, browsers, and streaming devices, including remote access outside your home network. Plex also bundles a free ad-supported catalog of on-demand movies/shows and live TV channels alongside your own library. Plex Pass adds extras like hardware-accelerated transcoding, DVR for live TV, offline downloads, and skip-intro detection.
- **How it works**: You install Plex Media Server on a computer or NAS, point it at your media folders so it fetches metadata and artwork, then access and stream that library (plus Plex's free content) through Plex apps on other devices.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: ?
- **Platforms**: ?

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Emby](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/emby.md) | 96 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 2 | [Jellyfin](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jellyfin.md) | 91 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 3 | [Kodi](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kodi.md) | 78 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 4 | [Navidrome](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/navidrome.md) | 60 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 5 | [Audiobookshelf](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/audiobookshelf.md) | 46 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 6 | [Calibre-Web](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/calibre-web.md) | 46 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 7 | [Komga](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/komga.md) | 46 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 8 | [Kavita](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kavita.md) | 42 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 9 | [Stremio](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/stremio.md) | building | ? | ? |
| 10 | [Universal Media Server](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/universal-media-server.md) | building | ? | ? |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Media servers checklist | Plex | Emby | Jellyfin | Kodi | Navidrome | Audiobookshelf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Starts at | ? | $4.99/mo (or $119 lifetime) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Platforms | ? | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Transcoding (hardware) | ? | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | ? |
| Live TV & DVR | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile sync/downloads | ? | Yes | Partial | ? | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-user profiles | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Metadata scraping | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Music support | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Photos support | ? | Yes | Partial | Yes | No | ? |
| Plugin ecosystem | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
| Client apps (TV platforms) | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No |
| Fully offline / no account | ? | Partial | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Plex. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary — <https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-staff-and-potenially-big-brother-access-my-files-now/12283> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Plex staff can theoretically access our files at will (depending on how they've coded their closed source server)”
- **Pricing model**: Freemium — <https://www.plex.tv/plans/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Add your movies, shows, and music to Plex and stream them across every device on your home network — no subscription required.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/