Best Plex alternatives in 2024: Jellyfin, Emby, and more (2024)

If you have a large database of movies and TV shows, you've probably been enticed by the idea of setting up a Plex server. You can install one to stream video files to clients, and it can transcode them to lower resolutions and bitrates for playback on slower connections. However, for many people, it's not good enough, especially because some features cost money. That's why some of the alternatives are enticing, especially those that are free. These are some of the best Plex alternatives on the market that you can install on an excellent NAS or on your own computer.

1 Jellyfin

My personal favorite

Jellyfin is my media server of choice after using Plex for years, and it's become a favorite of many in the NAS community because it's totally free and open-source. Jellyfin, just like Plex, will pull in the metadata of all of your shows and movies while also providing useful features like automatic subtitle support, transcoding, library management, and even remote play syncing so that you can watch something with friends or family in multiple places, all synced up.

Once configured, it's easy to access Jellyfin from everywhere. It has a web panel and multiple client applications for Linux, Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS. It also has a Kodi plugin, TV apps (including Android TV), and it even supports DLNA streaming. It's a ridiculously versatile media server that manages to provide basically all of what Plex does, but for free.

You can try out Jellyfin using the live instance that the developers have available.

Jellyfin

Jellyfin is one of the best Plex alternatives you can get, and that's thanks to its open-source nature and powerful set of features. There are apps for basically every platform and it's completely free to run your very own server.

See at Jellyfin

2 Emby

Some extra features for a premium

Emby is quite similar to Jellyfin, which makes sense since Jellyfin is an Emby fork from 2018. Ever since Emby went closed source, it's introduced several great features that you can use, though many are locked behind a license fee. Many people prefer Emby's clients, but you can also host an Emby server on an Android-powered device if you'd like.

Some unique features of Emby include:

• Smart home integration
• Transcoding and HDR tone mapping
• Lyrics display for music
• Live TV
• Intro skipping
• Cinema intros

Emby, like Jellyfin, is accessible anywhere once configured. You can use any of the officially supported apps for platforms including Linux, Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS, and there's DLNA support too.

Emby

Emby is a paid-for alternative to Plex that has a few unique features you won't get anywhere else, like smart home integration and HDR tone mapping. The only disadvantage is that it'll cost you money to use some features that you get free elsewhere, like caching your video files.

See at Emby

3 Kodi

Versatility

While not strictly a media server like Jellyfin, Emby, or even Plex, Kodi can absolutely be used as one, thanks to its DLNA (UPnP) streaming capabilities. It won't transcode video to be played at lower resolutions or anything like that, but it's a quick solution that you can just install, point to media on your storage device, and have it stream in a basic way to other devices on your network.

The best way to use Kodi is by installing it and then using a plugin to access your library on Jellyfin, Emby, or whatever other service you use. It's not really built as a media server, but it does work for that kind of usage if you really want to push it.

Kodi

Kodi isn't really a media server as such, but it's a great way to access video files stored on your network. Thanks to plugins, too, you can use it with Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby.

See at Kodi

If you just want something basic that works and can stream to a multitude of devices, something like Universal Media Server might be up your alley. It just works off of the DLNA/UPnP protocol and doesn't feature any other flourishes, but that also means it has a wide compatibility. Basically, any device can play a DLNA stream, which is why it's so popular.

Universal Media Server will also transcode video for the intended target so that you can still use it on devices that may not have the necessary capabilities to play the content that's being streamed. For example, Universal Media Server can stream to a PlayStation 4, but you'll need to transcode video for it.

Universal Media Server

Universal Media Server is a pretty basic program that will let you stream over DLNA/UPnP, and it has transcoding support. It doesn't feature anything fancy, but it gets the job done.

See at Universal Media Server

Which is the media server for you?

No matter what you go for, all of these are viable Plex alternatives. It's definitely worth weighing the pros and cons of each of them, but for me personally, I find that Jellyfin is the best by far. It's totally free, can transcode media using my GTX 1070 to anything, and has a ton of feature-rich clients that run on anything. It may fall behind in terms of some features you'll find in Plex and Emby, but it's robust and works well, and if you're tinkering around with a NAS, then you'll be used to doing some things yourself, anyway.