If you're building a home media server, you've got a few solid options to pick from. Plex has long been the mainstream giant that most people start with, but over time, the app has shifted away from pure self-hosting. As a result, Jellyfin has quietly become the go-to choice for self-hosting enthusiasts who want more control and no compromises.
Plex is a streaming aggregator, not just a media server platform
Offline media is no longer the main attraction
Plex's roots go all the way back to XBMC (now known as Kodi), one of the oldest free and open-source media center platforms. The team behind Plex wanted to build a free, polished tool that made it easy to organize and watch local files, and a couple of years later, it evolved into the client-server platform we know today.
For a very long time, Plex was the default choice for self-hosting a media server, in no small part thanks to its clean UI and ease of setup.
However, that started to change in 2019, when Plex launched its (free) ad-supported streaming service (AVOD) that included older but popular movies and shows from Warner Bros., MGM, Lionsgate, and others. It was followed by FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) a year later, which added live channels.
Even though most of the content on Plex was "back-catalog," the ability to stream free content was still a big shift. It also marked the beginning of the end for power users, as Plex started shifting its focus from self-hosted media server software to a lightweight streaming service alternative supported by ads.
In simple terms, Plex today does a lot more beyond self-hosting—it's now a media aggregator, not just a media server. Jellyfin, on the other hand, has stayed true to its self-hosted media server roots.
While Jellyfin is completely free, Plex locks major features behind a subscription
I'm not paying for basic features that Jellyfin offers for free
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At its core, Plex is a business. Even though it's technically free and enables free self-hosting, the developers still need to incentivize people to pay for a subscription to unlock extra features. One of the more controversial additions was the one-minute playback limit on mobile devices, introduced around 2020.
Users had to pay a one-time fee or buy a Plex Pass to stream their own content. Fortunately, Plex removed this drastic limitation in 2025, but it's far from the only "premium" feature Plex charges for or has charged for in the past.
One of the biggest features locked behind the $6.99/month Plex Pass is hardware transcoding. Without going too far into the weeds, this allows your host device to use its hardware to accelerate transcoding, which happens when a video file isn't supported by your client device or when you're streaming at a different resolution (e.g., a 4K file playing at 1080p on a phone).
Hardware transcoding is incredibly important because it makes even old Intel processors that support Intel Quick Sync Video usable for a server. It's all thanks to a dedicated hardware block on the CPU that's optimized for fast and efficient video transcoding. Many people build media servers using ultra-cheap hardware that can't handle software transcoding smoothly, so it's frustrating to see such an essential feature locked behind a relatively expensive paywall.
It's one of the main reasons I went with Jellyfin, as it supports hardware transcoding completely free. That's how I was able to build a media server using an old laptop with an i5-7200U and still get reasonably smooth playback, even when transcoding is required.
As for the idea of paying for a subscription like Plex while trying to avoid subscriptions by self-hosting in the first place, I can see both sides.
Plex offers decent value if you like the app and don't mind paying. The Remote Watch Pass, for example, costs $1.99/month and lets you stream your media outside your network. You can set this up in Jellyfin too, but you have to handle it yourself (through something like a VPN or port forwarding ), whereas Plex does most of the heavy lifting for you.
That said, I still prefer not to pay when there's a free option that does everything I need.
As Jellyfin got better, Plex slowly eroded everything it had going for it
As one declines, the other improves
Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | Hamara/ Shutterstock
For many years, people loved Plex for its awesome, easy-to-use UI—it looks like a proper streaming service. However, from a purely self-hoster's standpoint, it's no longer the cleanest solution if you just want to watch your own content. The app is a curated mishmash of your content and Plex's recommendations.
The "Discover" section adds even more clutter, acting as a cross-platform watchlist that points you to the right streaming service for new content. While it undoubtedly helps users find things to watch, someone using the app purely for self-hosting will find that it makes the experience feel more bloated.
This mixed ecosystem treats your local content as just another source instead of the primary focus, which is the last thing you want if your goal is to avoid streaming service subscriptions in the first place.
Jellyfin's utilitarian interface can appear a bit rough around the edges to people used to the polished experience of Disney+ or Netflix, but it's this exact local-first philosophy that made me fall in love with it. It's ultra clean; there are no algorithms tracking your viewing habits or pushing recommendations. Your content is the focus.
The default home layout shows your library folders (which you set up yourself), Continue Watching, Next Up, and Recently Added—and that's pretty much it. It's not like you need anything else, anyway.
If you didn't like Jellyfin the last time you tried it or found the mobile app clunky, it's improved a lot over the past few years. It might not be as polished as Plex, but it's lightweight and easier to use than ever. More importantly, Jellyfin's open-source nature makes it highly modular, meaning you can install plugins and themes to customize your experience.
Want subtitles? Install Open Subtitles . Want metadata for your shows? TheTVDB and TVmaze have you covered. Missing Plex's skip intro feature? Install Intro Skipper . You get the idea.
I'll always pick free and open-source software when given the choice
Complete control and privacy, no strings attached
Plex has been the go-to media server solution for years, and in a world where Jellyfin didn't exist, I might still recommend it. Fortunately, we don't live in that world, and Jellyfin does exist. It puts the focus back where it belongs: your own media.
For a completely free app that does everything most people need (including hardware transcoding) and comes with no strings attached, it's hard not to recommend it over Plex, especially when cost is a concern. Even if you already have a lifetime Plex Pass, you can always run Jellyfin alongside it .
