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Plex has announced a massive price increase on the service's Lifetime Plex Pass. On July 1, the lifetime subscription option will go from $249.99 to $749.99, an increase of 200%. The price hike will only apply to new subscribers, with no changes to monthly or annual subscription pricing.

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[-] Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 62 points 3 days ago

My Jellyfin server goes, "Burrrrrrr!"

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[-] FUCKING_CUNO@lemmy.dbzer0.com 111 points 3 days ago

Literally 10x the price I paid for mine

[-] pressedhams 45 points 3 days ago

Early adopter club 🙌🙌

[-] 69420@lemmy.world 120 points 3 days ago

Early rejector club. Jellyfin gang.

[-] FUCKING_CUNO@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I have underwear older then jellyfin. Plex was the only option for some time

Edit: Alright, alright, it wasn't the only option, but it was the cleanest/easiest way to make a home server feel like a streaming service that I knew of at the time

[-] adespoton@lemmy.ca 32 points 3 days ago

It was?

I started streaming video in around 2001. Over SMB. Using VLC as the client.

Then I switched to using iTunes as a server.

Then came XMPP/Kodi.

And eventually, Jellyfin.

Every few years, I’ve tried Plex, and it’s never done quite what I wanted, and required security/privacy compromises. About the only thing it has going for it is that the client and the server will run on just about anything.

[-] Davel23@fedia.io 29 points 3 days ago

XMPP

I think you mean XBMC.

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[-] Lonewolfmcquade@lemmy.world 68 points 3 days ago

I don't know why anyone would pay that instead of using Jellyfin. I've had my server up for years now and it works great.

[-] JDPoZ@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I haven’t checked in on Jellyfin for a while now, but don’t they still have issues with hardware transcoding support?

Not to mention the lack of software clients on other platforms for just playback that Plex has been established on for years and even multiple device generations like with PlayStation, Roku, Fire Stick, etc.?

Also you have to configure your own reverse proxy / Tailscale set up to securely access a content library remotely, right - as opposed Plex’s relatively simpler remote access configuration?

[-] warm@kbin.earth 38 points 3 days ago

Surprise, surprise, a paid product with salaried developers has more features than a volunteer project!

More people using Jellyfin, more people who will contribute, through code or donations. It's worth a downside to swap over.

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[-] brygphilomena@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 3 days ago

Last I looked, jellyfin auth and public facing security were less than ideal.

How far has that come in the last few years? I have plenty of people using my Plex and it's been secure. I had heard a public facing Jellyfin wasn't super secure.

Honestly, 95% of the reason I use Plex is so I don't have to manage user passwords and troubleshoot issues for my friends and family. I just grant access.

[-] mattyroses@lemmy.today 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This. I run a Kubernetes cluster and self host tons of shit . . . but I do NOT want to be dealing with client issues for Boomer relatives and worrying about securing servers that a Samsung TV needs to auth with

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[-] BeUnique@lemmy.zip 33 points 3 days ago

That's just gonna drive lazy people to learn how to use something open source like Jellyfin.

[-] SW42@lemmy.world 33 points 3 days ago

Wait wait wait so… you pay THEM to let YOU share YOUR media? Wha?

[-] normis@infosec.pub 4 points 2 days ago

Not really. What Plex is selling is a relay service, so you can connect to your home media remotely, just like you can do with Tailscale etc. the second thing they are selling is user management, easily share media library with other people. Both of these are hard to set up for many people in Jellyfin

[-] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 days ago

An absolutely insane number of self hosting options require a subscription for now fucking reasoning.

Not a one time buy which would at least make sense. No no! Its a monthly fee AND half the time they require a Internet connection and checkin. Just to SELF HOST.

its fucking baffling.

[-] AHemlocksLie@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago

Not a one time buy which would at least make sense. No no! Its a monthly fee AND half the time they require a Internet connection and checkin. Just to SELF HOST.

Yeah, the DRM has to make sure your subscription is up to date. For the service you provide all the hardware for. The service you will personally have to install and maintain.

Plex announces that it is tired of having all of these customers buying their software

[-] billwashere@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

How much longer before the yearly/monthly goes up this much.

[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 days ago

as soon as they think the market will bear it

[-] MehBlah@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

How much longer until all the current lifetime subscribers have to pay up to the current price to keep it?

[-] nahostdeutschland@feddit.org 7 points 3 days ago

Yeah - they know that you are using the service a lot. They know that you are willing to pay. But they are not getting ongoing revenue from you. That is something no MBA manager CEO dude can accept. They will come for lifetime users

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[-] Mynameisallen@lemmy.zip 33 points 3 days ago

Honestly if you’re a smaller server, or anywhere decent at tinkering Jellyfin is the better product at this point

[-] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 16 points 3 days ago

I tried switching and I'll try again. But getting https reverse proxy was a lot of moving parts that I never got working.

The instructions were a long chain of learning:

Install ngnx for reverse proxy

Ngnx only available as docker

Install docker

Docker not working because I don't understand it.

Install podman

Give up and go back to 3d printing where I have a backlog of stuff that actually needs to be done.

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[-] voytrekk@sopuli.xyz 26 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I can kind of understand why they don't want users buying a lifetime pass. It means they will not get any further funding from that person. It's worth the tradeoff when you are smaller and need funding, but kind of a hinderance once you are more established.

Either way, I'm glad I purchased the lifetime pass when it was much cheaper years ago.

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[-] JDPoZ@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

At this point, I think we all can see the critical tipping point of enshittification writing on the wall for Plex.

I know everyone says Jellyfin, but given how easy Plex still handles hardware transcoding on many common current standard NAS configurations as well as the somewhat non-standard network configurations needed to otherwise easily yet securely access content remotely from external locations, not to mention the decent UX and deep integration across all client platforms whether web, iOS, Android, Smart TV, and even things like PlayStation and Xbox hardware, but do others here have some any thoughts on how to jump ship to get 1:1 features here at some point?

Many people have been on Plex for more than a decade and have seen it slowly try to reposition its business model to one that is leaning toward something more akin to a streaming subscription rather than a simple personal content library software… but I still have yet to feel the need to switch… at least not yet.

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this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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