Plex vs Jellyfin: Who will win!?
Whether you’re a Plex veteran considering your alterantives or you’re a total newbie trying to figure out which one to try first, this article will compare Plex vs. Jellyfin where it matters, without all the BS.
Keep reading to find out who wins this battle of home streaming servers.
Plex vs. Jellyfin: Full Comparison
We think it’s best to start by comparing them head to head on the most important criteria. So, let’s get to it!
Price
Winner: Jellyfin
Jellyfin is free; completely. Plex can be free… but then you don’t get all of the features. For that, you’ll need to pay $6.99 per month, $69.99 per year, or *gulp* $749.99 for lifetime access.
And since free is cheaper than not free, Jellyfin wins this round. Easily.
Features
Winner: Plex
Now, as far as features are concerned, this comparison only works if we assume that you’re paying for Plex. If you’re not, Jellyfin wins, since all of Jellyfin’s features are free, while Plex locks many of them behind their Plex Pass subscription.
But if we compare one fully-featured app against the other, then the winner is actually Plex, though only slightly.
Performance
Winner: Plex
Again, we’re going to compare Jellyfin with Plex’s paid membership here. And also again, Plex does win, though not by a lot. As the more established, high-end service, performance tends to be a little better.
Though this may vary from person to person, depending on your setup and usage.
Privacy
Winner: Jellyfin
Final Winner?
Well, that’s weird. It seems like we ended… in a tie? 2-2.
But honestly, that seems about right. Since whether Plex or Jellyfin is the better service is going to depend on your own needs, tastes, and preferences.
That being said, if we compared only the free plans, Jellyfin would win handily. But for a slightly more nuanced recommendation, we’ll make it easy for you below.
Should You Use Plex or Jellyfin?
Since the head-to-head comparison wasn’t quite conclusive, we’ll go with a more personalized approach this time. In other words, let’s look at who would be better off with Plex, and who would be better served by Jellyfin.
Choose Plex if:
- You don’t mind paying for the best experience and features
- You want a more streamlined, “mainstream” experience
- You’re not concerned about privacy
Basically, Plex feels a little more like a major streaming service like Netflix, warts and all. But like a major streaming service, you will need to pay for the best experience.
Plex is popular for a reason, even if recent moves have left fans scratching their heads.
Choose Jellyfin if:
- You don’t want to pay
- You don’t necessarily care about having the most streamlined, “fancy” service
- You value your privacy
- You value open-source software
In short, Jellyfin is excellent for people who refuse to pay, either out of principal or because they’re, well, broke.
And in fact, if you value privacy, control, and/or don’t want Plex cluttering up your home page, then it’s actually the better service.
Plex vs. Jellyfin: Wrap-Up
So, hopefully that helped you make up your mind. Because as you can see, neither Plex and Jellyfin are that far off in much of their functionality and features. Meaning it really comes down to on what you value most: Price? Convenience? Privacy? Customization?
There’s really no wrong answer here.
Are you team Plex or team Jellyfin? Let us know in the comments.