Streaming your own movies and TV shows is one of the most common first projects for a new home server, and Jellyfin and Plex are the two apps almost everyone compares before choosing. Both do the same basic job: they scan a folder of video files, pull in cover art and episode info, and give you an app on your TV, phone, or browser to watch from. The differences are in cost, polish, and philosophy.
The short answer
- Choose Jellyfin if you want a fully free, open-source, privacy-respecting media server, don't mind slightly rougher edges in some client apps, and are comfortable troubleshooting occasional quirks yourself.
- Choose Plex if you want the most polished, "it just works" experience across nearly every device, remote access set up automatically with minimal effort, and don't mind an account requirement and a paid tier for some features.
Cost
Jellyfin is completely free and open source, with no paid tier at all — every feature is available to every user. Plex is free to install and use for local streaming, but many of the features people actually want — remote access reliability, hardware transcoding on more than a couple of file types, and extras like intro-skip detection — sit behind Plex Pass, a paid subscription or one-time lifetime purchase. Budget-focused self-hosters lean toward Jellyfin largely for this reason.
Ease of setup
Plex has historically had the edge here: its remote access ("Plex Relay") is configured almost automatically, and its account-based system makes inviting family members to your library simple. Jellyfin has closed most of this gap in recent years, but remote access still generally requires you to set up your own access method (a reverse proxy or VPN — we cover this in a dedicated remote-access guide), which is an extra step Plex handles for you out of the box.
Privacy and account requirements
This is where Jellyfin's design philosophy is genuinely different, not just cheaper. Jellyfin requires no account at all — it never talks to a company's servers to function, and your watch history and library metadata never leave your network. Plex requires a Plex.tv account to use even for fully local streaming, and some metadata and usage information does pass through Plex's servers as part of how the service works. If "no company in the loop at all" matters to you — which is a common reason people get into self-hosting in the first place — this is Jellyfin's biggest advantage.
App/device support
Plex has broader, more consistently polished official apps across smart TVs, streaming boxes (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV), game consoles, and mobile. Jellyfin's official and community-built apps cover nearly all the same devices today, but quality varies more by platform — some Jellyfin clients are excellent, others are community-maintained and less consistent. If you have a household with several non-technical family members on varied devices, test Jellyfin's specific apps for your TVs before fully committing.
Hardware transcoding
Both support hardware-accelerated transcoding (using your CPU's built-in graphics to convert video on the fly for devices that can't play a file natively) if your hardware supports it — see our mini PC buying guide for what to look for. Plex historically supported more codecs and scenarios in hardware transcoding, though this gap has narrowed. For most beginners with a modern Intel-based mini PC, both handle typical libraries fine.
Side-by-side comparison
| Jellyfin | Plex | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 100% free, all features | Free core, paid Plex Pass for extras |
| Account required | No | Yes (Plex.tv account) |
| Data leaves your network | No | Some metadata/usage data |
| Remote access setup | Manual (VPN/reverse proxy) | Mostly automatic |
| App polish | Good, variable by platform | Consistently polished |
| Sharing with family | Manual user accounts | Easy invite system |
| Open source | Yes, fully | No (server is closed source) |
Can you run both?
Yes, and some people do while deciding — both can point at the same media folder simultaneously without conflict, since neither one moves or modifies your original files by default. If you're unsure, install Jellyfin first (it's free and takes about 15 minutes to get a basic library running), and try Plex afterward if you want to compare the experience directly on your own devices before settling on one.
Our recommendation for beginners
If cost and privacy matter to you at all — which, if you're reading a self-hosting site to get away from subscriptions, they probably do — start with Jellyfin. It costs nothing, respects your data by design, and is genuinely good enough for the vast majority of households. Switch to or add Plex later specifically if you hit a device compatibility issue or want smoother sharing with non-technical family members outside your home.