I’m a Plex server owner, and I think the Plex Pass price increase is fair

For well over 10 years now, I have owned and maintained a Plex server. I first got started with Plex when I realized that to consume most of the media content I wanted meant signing up for 10 different streaming services — and even then, I still wouldn’t have access to everything. That’s a game I refuse to play, so making my own server with only the things I want and nothing else was the most obvious solution.

Since then, Plex has become a massive part of my life. In fact, I recently wrote an article about my most life-changing pieces of tech, and Plex is there. The server has been fun to create and maintain, and it’s been an absolute joy to share my media with friends and family.

On March 19, Plex announced some significant changes to its service, which included a hefty price increase for its subscription product, Plex Pass. It also introduced a new limitation to how people can remotely stream content from private servers like mine. These changes go into effect later this month. Considering the scope of these changes — and the fact that Plex Pass would suddenly start costing a lot more money — many folks were quite upset.

However, I wasn’t. While Plex could have rolled out these changes differently to soften the blow, I think the changes are justified for multiple reasons.

Before I get into why I think Plex’s changes are acceptable, I should summarize them quickly for anyone reading this who doesn’t already know about them.

The most significant change is the Plex Pass price increase. Plex Pass is a subscription service that gives server owners and their users certain perks and features that non-paying users don’t get. For example, when new television media is uploaded to a private server, Plex Pass enables a scan of all episodes that determines where the title intro is and when the end credits start. Then, it provides buttons during playback, allowing you to skip them. This is just one example; there are so many more Plex Pass features.

Here’s what’s changing for Plex Pass pricing:

• Monthly: Increased by $2.00 each month, from $4.99 to $6.99; about a 40% increase
• Annually: Increased by $30.00 each year, from $39.99 to $69.99; about a 75% increase
• Lifetime: Increased by $130.00, from $119.99 to $249.99; about a 108% increase

On top of these price increases, Plex is also changing how remote streaming works. Remote streaming is when anyone — whether the server owner or an authorized user — accesses a Plex server from outside that server’s home network. Currently, this is a free service; anyone with permission to do so can access media from any private server for free. Starting on April 29, 2025, though, this won’t be the case. Instead, the server’s owner will need to be a Plex Pass subscriber. If they are, all remote streaming (either by them or any other authorized user) will be free.

Plex is also introducing a second subscription service called Remote Watch Pass. This service is specifically for authorized users to stream content remotely from private Plex servers that are not owned by Plex Pass subscribers. If you are a user of a server and its owner does not (or cannot) subscribe to Plex Pass, this new subscription will allow you to stream content from that server or any others. However, it will lack the features that come with Plex Pass. Since it’s missing those perks, it is less expensive at $1.99 per month or $19.99 each year (there is no lifetime subscription option).

Finally, with the introduction of Remote Watch Pass, Plex is doing away with its one-time fees for gaining full operation of its apps. Today, if you want to use a Plex app to stream content from a server, you must pay a small one-time fee (usually about $5.00) to unlock the app. This won’t be the case much longer, which is terrific news.

Ultimately, my biggest problem with these changes is that they are happening all at once. None of these announcements on their own is particularly bad (and one is flat-out good), but Plex’s decision to dump them all simultaneously makes them seem overwhelming. When you break them down, though, I think they’re all fine — even those massive price increases.

To start, this is the first time Plex has increased Plex Pass pricing in over 10 years. The last time this happened was on September 29, 2014 (I remember getting the email). Although price increases are always annoying, what other product/service hasn’t increased in price in a decade? I understand that these are hefty price increases, particularly the 108% increase for the lifetime membership. However, Plex could also have reached that price by slowly raising it every few years, like many other companies. Simply put, you can’t operate a service that’s grown as much as Plex has for a decade without raising prices, and I think it’s pretty surprising that we’re only now seeing this happen.

Additionally, over the past 10 years, Plex has made Plex Pass significantly better by offering many new features. The aforementioned ability to skip title sequences and end credits, for example, wasn’t around in 2014. Automatic subtitle syncing, DVR of live TV, and access to the amazing Plexamp app also didn’t exist in 2014. I know that paying more for a service is a tough pill to swallow, but I am absolutely fine with that when the service continuously gets better and more valuable — and Plex Pass fits that mold.

Even if you don’t agree with any of that, Plex has given us a very solid window to avoid paying more for the lifetime pass. The company announced the price change on March 19, and you have until April 29 before it goes into effect. If you hate the idea of the increase so much, Plex has given you a wide-open window not to feel the crunch.

Continuing on, I am also totally fine with the policy alterations that force someone — whether the server owner or the user — to have a paid subscription for remote streaming. When it comes to remote streaming video content from a Plex server, it doesn’t always involve a direct connection between the user and the server. A lot of the time, Plex’s own servers are involved in some way, whether for indirect connections (which involves Plex’s servers handling some of the streaming load) or special Plex Pass features. Those Plex-owned servers need to be maintained, and the company’s user base has increased exponentially over the past decade. It is not unreasonable for a company to need to charge more to keep up with its growth. Understandably, longtime Plex users who have been used to this feature being free for over 15 years have every reason to be upset about it, but they must also understand that it’s just the nature of keeping a business afloat.

Finally, let’s not forget that Plex is also changing something that everyone can get behind: removing the one-time unlock fee for its apps. I’ve seen a lot of backlash against the Plex Pass price increases and alterations to remote streaming, but I’ve seen almost no chatter about Plex removing this fee, which seems unfair. You can be mad about the stuff you deem as bad, but you can’t then also dismiss the good stuff.

Ultimately, this all comes down to a lot changing in 10 years, and Plex needing to change with it. In my opinion, it’s actually a testament to Plex’s commitment to its community that it’s held out for as long as it has from making these changes. Of course, now Plex has a new problem: follow-through.

Plex, as a company, has let me down a few times in the past. Somewhat recently, Plex spontaneously started sending users emails about what other users have been viewing on a particular server. This sounds innocuous, but getting an email that shows you that your uncle is spending a lot of time watching and re-watching Showgirls is probably not an email you want to receive. Plex also recently started to sunset its terrific Watch Together feature, which is disappointing. What I’m saying here is that I don’t want you to think Plex has never had any blunders because it certainly has.

However, Plex has also continuously improved its product. The Plex experience I enjoy today is much, much better than the Plex experience I had when I first signed up. There are more features, it’s more stable, it has better support, and there are even new ways to consume media with the introduction of Plex’s free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels. Plex has also repeatedly confirmed that it would never, ever remove the ability for people to own private servers and share those servers with others — and it’s still delivering on that promise, even if it made a few changes.

That all being said, increasing the pricing to where it’s at now puts even more pressure on the company to continue with those commitments. The barrier of entry for new Plex server owners just went way up, and those newer users will balk if they feel like they’re not getting what they paid for. I paid less than $100 for my lifetime Plex Pass many years ago, and I can say with absolute certainty that it was worth every penny. However, a person paying $250 for that pass in 2025 is a tougher customer to please, and Plex needs to rise to that challenge.

Plex Pass also needs to get better continuously. Likewise, prices should not increase for a long time after this — maybe asking for another 10 years is a bit much, but five years seems reasonable. Plex also needs to continuously remember that free alternatives exist (with Jellyfin being an example), so the pressure is now on to justify its new asking prices at the risk of people jumping ship.

For me, I’m a lifer. Unless Plex does something absolutely bonkers, like rescinding my lifetime Plex Pass, removing the ability to stream from my server remotely, or figuring out sneaky ways to extract money from my users, I’ll stick with it.