Media library management and TV streaming app Plex is tripling the price of its Lifetime Plex Pass to $750, the second largest price increase after increasing the cost of the option. from $120 to $250 last year.
The $250 price is still available until the new price goes into effect on July 1st. Those with existing inactive Plex accounts have the option to upgrade at a lower price until then as well.
Plex is a service that helps you organize digital videos, music and photos and stream them to all applications on TVs, mobile devices and computers with a home network. Plex also offers ad-supported live TV and on-demand movies and TV shows.
In its blog post about the change, the company said, “We considered ending the Lifetime Plex Pass in the past, as recurring subscriptions help us continue long-term development, but we know it’s still an important option for many in our community. So instead of discontinuing it, we’re keeping it available at a price that reflects the true, ongoing value of the software and we intend to keep it for years to come.”
Plex programs
The Plex software is free for those who stream their own media or Plex TV offerings within their local network. But like many companies (hello, Microsoft!), Plex has been guiding its customers to its subscription plans, which start at $1.99 per month, to get 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 fill in metadata for easy navigation and playback.
But the price hike has sparked speculation among Plex subscribers that Plex’s future costs to serve those with a Lifetime subscription plan are causing it to turn users away from the option by charging it too high a price.
One poster on Reddit said of the price hike, “I’d be shocked if anyone would buy a lifetime pass for $750. Like, even one buyer would shock me for that price.”
Another wrote, “Today’s prices are much 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 apps and interfaces have continued to meet or even exceed my expectations.”
Avoiding price increases and other options
Options for those who want to use Plex but avoid price increases are to pay for Lifetime before July 1, go with a monthly or annual subscription to access the features Lifetime offers, stick to the free local viewing tier or seek out a competitor.
Many swear by Jellyfin, an open source media server software that has a community of volunteers reviewing it. For many of those communities, it’s a battle of ease of use (Plex) versus a free platform that’s updated quickly and continuously, but can have a steep learning and installation curve (Jellyfin).
Others who aren’t fans of Jellyfin or just want something more plug-and-play are using free software like Kodi or Emby, which help filter media and offer a variety of streaming options.
