As traditional streaming services slowly become more expensive, self-hosting alternatives like Plex and Jellyfin are rapidly gaining in popularity. Hosting media you acquire from various online sources, or ripping your own Blu-rays, takes more work than signing up for a Netflix or Disney+ subscription, but it's undeniably cheaper and allows you to be far more intentional with your media consumption. I've found it to sort of be like a refreshing digital version of old school Blockbuster.

While there are several self-hosting options out there, Plex and Jellyfin are arguably the most popular and best known. Many people opt for Jellyfin over Plex because it's open-source, free, and more private. Additionally, functional features like transcoding and remote content playback aren't locked behind a paywall, unlike Plex and its Plex Pass. But like a lot of open source apps, Jellyfin isn't perfect. It can be buggy, and overall, it feels less polished than Plex, especially on some devices.

With this in mind, Plex remains the better self-hosting option for most users, as long as you're willing to pay for Plex Pass. As far as self-hosted media platforms go, Plex has grown to become very corporate-feeling, but it's also the most streamlined and plug-and-play — which is exactly what some people are looking for, especially if they're new to self-hosting.

Plex is available on pretty much every platform out there

The app's UI is generally more polished and streamlined than Jellyfin

One of my favorite things about Plex is that it's available on pretty much every modern platform. Do you want to watch your self-hosted content on a Mac? Maybe you'd prefer to stream that new episode of The Sopranos you just downloaded on your iPhone? What about your Android device? How about your Samsung, LG, or Hisense TV? Perhaps you're still trapped in 2013 and want to watch Heated Rivalry on your Xbox One? If you can think of the platform, Plex probably has an app for it — and for the most part, every version of the official Plex app features a fresh-looking, modern user-interface.

On the other hand, the app platform gap with Jellyfin is starting to shrink. For example, an official Samsung TV Tizen Jellyfin app recently launched. At the same time, there isn't an official Apple TV 4K Jellyfin app, with third-party clients like Swiftfin and Infuse filling that gap. There's also no Jellyfin app for the PS4, PS5, and some more obscure smart TV operating systems. Existing app updates also don't arrive at a steady clip like they do with Plex, which is understandable given it's a free, open-source project. Again, both factors are improving with Jellyfin, but for now, Plex has the edge in platform availability.

Plex's remote streaming just works

Setting up remote streaming with Jellyfin can take some troubleshooting

When I booted up Plex for the first time in several years a few months ago, I set up remote streaming in a matter of seconds. In fact, I use the phrase "set up" loosely, because I didn't really do anything — it just worked thanks to its automatic NAT traversal and relay fallback. This also means that accessing a friend's extensive library of content remotely is extremely straightforward and involves receiving only a simple request (it kind of feels like magic).

With Jellyfin, some users might find that Remote streaming works immediately without needing to tinker with various settings, but in many cases, you may need to enable port forwarding or manually set up a reverse proxy to stream content from your Jellyfin server outside of your home. Like most aspects of Jellyfin, remote streaming is very DIY, and if you know what you're doing, it can take quite some time to get up and running. While there's, of course, nothing wrong with a self-hosting platform that requires configuration to enable certain features, as far as getting remote streaming immediately up and running, Plex still has the advantage over Jellyfin in most situations.

Plex is overall more streamlined and stable

It won't be long before Jellyfin closes the gap

There was a time when Plex had a vibrant ecosystem of useful plugins, but a few years ago, the self-hosting app officially dropped support for clients that add extra features, and removed its library of community-made add-ons. Some plugins still work in 2026, including Ombi, an excellent content request portal, and Sub-Zero, a superb subtitle downloader, and several others, but a lot aren't compatible with the app anymore. When it comes to Plex, though, you don't need to rely on plugins to make the app feel fully-featured and modern. Across platforms, Plex works reliably and features a modern UI that doesn't look dated compared to streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+.

On the other hand, Jellyfin offers a vibrant ecosystem of plugins that allow you to make the platform truly your own. There are plugins like Intro Skipper, which, as you likely guessed, skips TV show intros, HoverTrailer, which shows you trailers when you highlight a TV show or movie, and Auto Collection, which automatically organizes your library, and countless more.

That said, many of Jellyfin's more visually-focused plugins (though not all of them, of course) feel like they're designed to bring a Plex-like look to the open-source, self-hosting app. Adding to this, my overall experience with Jellyfin hasn't been quite as smooth as my time with Plex. I've encountered quite a few glitches on the hosting side and in-app lock-ups with the platform's iOS app over the past few weeks. With that in mind, if you're looking for a reliable platform that looks great and works across a wide variety of devices, Plex still has the advantage — at least for now.