The media library management and TV streaming app Plex is tripling the price of its Lifetime Plex Pass to $750, a second major price hike after it raised the cost of the option from $120 to $250 just last year.
The $250 price is still available until the new pricing goes into effect on July 1. Those with existing non-lifetime Plex accounts have the option to upgrade at the lower price until then as well.
Plex is a service that helps you organize digital videos, music and photos and stream them across apps on TVs, mobile devices and home-networked computers. Plex also offers some ad-supported live TV and on-demand movies and TV shows.
In its blog post about the change, the company said, “We’ve considered eliminating the Lifetime Plex Pass in the past, given that recurring subscriptions help us sustain long-term development, but we know it’s still a valuable option for many in our community. So instead of retiring it, we’re keeping it available at a price that reflects the real, ongoing value of the software we’re committed to building and maintaining for years to come.”
Plex’s plans
Plex’s software works for free for those who are streaming media they own or Plex’s TV offerings within their local network. But like many companies (hello, Microsoft!), Plex has been steering its customers to its subscription plans, which start at $1.99 a month, for additional features including remote streaming to different devices or hardware-based transcoding, the option to download media remotely and skip intros, credits or commercials.
One of the reasons people use Plex is that it can sort through your collection of music, TV shows and movies and populate metadata to make them easier to navigate and play.
But the price hike has created speculation among Plex subscribers that Plex’s future costs of serving those with the Lifetime subscription plan are causing it to wean users off the option by pricing it so high.
One poster on Reddit said of the price increase, “I’d be shocked if anyone ever purchases the lifetime pass at $750. Like, even a single buyer would shock me at that price.”
Another wrote, “Today’s pricing is a LOT different than when I got mine for $75. I’ve been using Plex for 11 years, 220 days, 14 hours, 27 minutes (as of this comment), and the progress and usability in the suite of apps and interfaces has continued to meet or even surpass my expectations.”
Avoiding the price hike with other options
The options for those who want to use Plex but avoid the price hike amount to either paying for Lifetime before July 1, going with a monthly or annual subscription to access features that Lifetime offers, sticking with the free tier for local watching or seeking out a competitor.
Many swear by Jellyfin, a free, open-source media server software suite that has a volunteer community updating it. For many in those communities, it’s a battle of ease-of-use (Plex) versus a free platform that is quickly and continuously updated, but that may have a steeper learning and installation curve (Jellyfin).
Others who are not fans of Jellyfin or who simply want something more plug-and-play are using free software such as Kodi or Emby, which also help sort media and offer a variety of streaming options.
