Since 2007, Plex has been the name in self-hosted media server software. Essentially, it lets you stream music, movies, and photos from your PC to other devices, much like Netflix and Spotify.

Then, sometime around 2019, Plex began adding standard streaming features to its service. This didn't bode well for its fan base. Plex’s account registration requirement, optional subscription, and extra content services have pushed self-hosting purists to Jellyfin as an alternative.

Unlike Plex, which is owned and maintained by Plex Inc., Jellyfin is an open-source project built and maintained by the community. Its focus is to offer a self-hosted media server solution free from privacy concerns, registration requirements, and bloated features. Being an open-source project, it’s also more customizable than Plex if you have the know-how. These are all advantages for users seeking to decouple from a third-party company.

So Jellyfin is better, right? Well, not always. Even with all the controversy, though, I can’t seem to ditch Plex. Here’s why.

5 Remote access is easier to configure on Plex

No messing around with network parameters

Plex is comparatively easier to set up than Jellyfin for someone who isn't attuned to configuring networks. It can quickly configure the network environment, so clients outside the home network can connect to the server. Plex also reconfigures its settings automatically if the host domain or IP changes. Additionally, there’s no need to set up a static IP; Plex manages that for you. Even as a novice, I was able to get a Plex server up and running in minutes.

4 More features

Those recommendations may come in handy

This section is controversial, depending on your perspective. Users who want a wholly self-hosted media server will find Plex’s recommendation system useless and intrusive, but for those who are just looking for a way to access their stored content remotely, these features may actually come in handy for discovering new shows and music.

In terms of media playback, I thoroughly enjoy Plexamp, Plex’s dedicated music app. On the other side, Jellyfin offers the sublime Media Player, which handles both music and video. There’s no winner here; both are great.

3 Plex works with more devices

From PCs to consoles, Plex covers them all

In addition to Windows PCs, both Plex and Jellyfin offer clients for most popular devices, including Android TVs, Roku, Android smartphones, and iOS devices. However, Plex goes a step further by supporting gaming consoles such as the Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox, and Nvidia Shield.

2 Plex offers a more stable and consistent user experience

It just works better on all devices

Jellyfin’s user interface has improved, but it still trails Plex thanks to its dedicated development team. Plex’s server interface resembles popular streaming services with a complete dashboard. Additionally, its service is polished across all platforms, whether it be on a PC, smartphone, or console.

This is where the open-source Jellyfin falls short. Since it is community-supported, bug fixes are less frequent and feature updates are more sporadic. While its clean interface and robust dashboard deserve praise, its performance and user experience can vary considerably across different platforms.

1 Plex is easier to share with friends

Add them to your server like you would on Facebook

Sharing your library with friends is much easier with Plex. If they have an account, all you need to do is add them to your friends list and choose which folders from your media server you’d like to share. You can share content with up to 100 users. However, keep in mind that Plex can suspend your account if you or your users violate the terms of service, such as if the host decides to charge users for access.

There are plenty of different ways to share a Jellyfin server with friends, but almost all of them require more work. The simplest way for me is to use a mesh VPN service like Tailscale (and a reverse proxy like Caddy if you have a custom domain).

Once everything is set up, sharing access is straightforward. However, depending on the scale of your service, you may encounter performance limitations and additional costs. The trade-off for this extra effort is that you have full control over how you share.

Again, this is what worked for me. You can also set up HTTPS with a reverse proxy, run it in a container for security, or even have your friends tunnel in using a VPN.

I’m sticking with Plex for now

Ardent FOSS (free and open-source software) fans will flame this opinion, but I’m still going to stick with Plex over Jellyfin, at least for now. It’s clear that Jellyfin is an attractive option: its no-paywall structure, total user control, a vast library of plugins, and an equally large community present solid arguments to make the switch. It’s just that for me, it doesn’t offer anything substantially superior to Plex. A big feature anchoring me to Plex is simply that it’s much easier to share content than it is on Jellyfin.

Some may switch to Jellyfin out of principle, as it better upholds the spirit of a truly self-hosted system. While I will always support that decision, I’m comfortable sacrificing a bit of that spirit for convenience.