r/PleX • u/tlhintoq • Aug 08 '26
Discussion Just try them both side-by-side
There's so much talk about Plex client going to sh!t and people wondering if its worth flipping over to Jellyfin. So...
You don't have to 'flip over' from one to the other. Jellyfin will install side-by-side with Plex. No need to wonder. Just install it and point it at your same libraries.
They will share the media just fine. You can test out Jellyfin or another server program now while you still run Plex. If you like it you can slow migrate. Move one TV over at a time. Or one tablet. Or one family shared house.
I'm still on Plex because my lifetime PlexPass was like $50 so I'm good. But even I recognize that the client programs are becoming increasingly enshitified so it's probably going to be forced on me at some point.
I run both because I know one day I'll be flipping over which client I'm using. So its easier to spend 5 minutes a week to keep both server software's on parity than to deal with a massive change over all at once.
Here there are side-by-side… well… one above the other. Its "same only different"… like there's any difference between a Toyota and Mazda anymore - Speedometer on the left or right. Same here. Do you want "Continue Watching" or "Up next" ??
At most - There's minor differences in naming conventions of files if you track different `editions` like 'Theatrical` and `Directors Cut` etc.
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u/NickNoodle55 Aug 08 '26
I did this about a year ago. Jellyfin came up short on a number of issues. I can't remember them all now, but I stayed with Plex.
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u/skanks20005 Aug 08 '26
I'll try Jellyfin this weekend. The ultimate test will be the whole One Piece anime - its flawless on my Plex after a lot of fiddling. If Jellyfish handles it fine, it will be approved.
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u/Mundstrom Aug 08 '26 edited Sep 05 '26
I've been running Jellyfin alongside my Plex client for a year+ now, and have been using Plex for over 14 years. I have this to say:
CONS
- The selection of good Jellyfin clients for iOS, iPad, and Apple TV is disappointing. I'll really miss PlexAmp too.
- The way media artwork doesn't update in the media server unless you refresh the page is annoying.
- Peer-to-peer streaming outside your home network is nowhere near as hassle-free as Plex.
- Browsing media page by page instead of using continuous scroll feels outdated.
- The whole Jellyfin UI could do with a rethink (as could Plex's I might add).
- Skins and plugins often seem broken, buggy, unmaintained, untested. I have to stick to the default skin which is kinda fugly.
- Lack of media context metadata is frustrating (different metadata options that fit certain media types like music, movie editions, tv show season names)
- Not as good at maintaining multiple users and media playback progress across devices.
- Scanning libraries for new media is pretty slow compared to Plex (maybe some sort of indexing optimisation is needed)
- Needs more "idiot proofing" like a way to delete a library without the media too FFS. Really needs a good UX/UI person to go through the entire platform to look for ambiguous system/error/alert messages and redundant clicks and dialogs and dashboard structure.
- Has a tendency to skip media during library scanning, so you have to take the folder out, scan, put it back, scan again. Does this a lot compared to Plex. Also has a "watch folder for changes" option that seems to be very unreliable and inconsistent.
PROS
- Free until you need a good player client for your phone/tablet, and I haven't purchased one because I want to try before I buy.
- Seems like the player engine is solid. Will play any codec/container/color space I've thrown at it, up to 4K, and responds quickly too.
- Saves metadata locally with media with .nfo files and artwork. I scan with Jellyfin when adding new media just so I have everything organised.
- Artwork support is generally better, with more options and wider selection.
- Plugin and skins framework could make it stronger than Plex (Plex abandoned this over a decade ago) but only if developers commit to maintaining their projects, as it otherwise results in a bad user experience (which may be why Plex abandoned it). Perhaps bringing skinners and developers closer to the Jellyfin team would up the quality, so they can get support and coordinate when things change.
***UPDATE**\*
As my Plex Pass renewal is approaching in October, I have spent the past month since my above comment migrating to Jellyfin for video media, and Navidrome for audio. Forcing myself not to use Plex has made me deep-dive onto the Jellyfin ecosystem, and my final conclusion is this: It's as good as, if not better than Plex. In fact many of the things I initially thought it couldn't do, it actually can. Goes to prove - you think you know, but you don't. It's just that you have to spend a lot of time drilling into the dashboard preferences to fine-tune the way it behaves. The flaws are still:
- Usability could be improved with a good UX/UI revamp. It's mainly the way they organised the dashboard/settings that frustrates me. Needs better grouping of settings.
- Lack of an official suite of cross-platform clients. Having to pay for some apps only to find them unsatisfying is a risk. I invested a lot of time looking into YouTube reviews before choosing Plezy over all the other available clients.
- Technical skill requirements for users is really high, especially setting up transcoding is super geeky. Glad I had AI to help me get the most out of my Synology's CPU/GPU and RAM. Something that detects the host hardware and self-configures would be a game-changer, as long as it still allows the user to fiddle about with settings afterwards.
- Scanning speed needs improvement. Some library scannings take way longer than they need to. Somehow Plex has managed to make library scannings blazingly fast over the years, and I of course hope Jellyfin's devs will figure out how it's done eventually.
I used ChatGPT to help me set up docker container on my NAS for Jellyfin and Navidrome. It also helped my migrate my Plex music playlists to Navidrome, which was my main gripe. I spent years making and curating those. I lost my half-star ratings and had to settle for 5-star ratings for songs, but at least the move let me keep the ratings, just rounded them up. I'll have to accept this for now. Perhaps Navidrome will someday adopt this, or a plugin can reenable half-stars. Plezy is a great front-end player client for all my devices, and for music I'm using NaviBeat for the same cross-device experience.
Why didn't I just host my music in Jellyfin instead of Navidrome?
I might eventually. So far Navidrome seems to consume less resources and its performance is solid. I do find its limited artist metadata a bit annoying, also the way you can't "fix" mismatches in the server - you have to get your library tagging sorted with something like MusicBrainz Picard. So far I haven't explored Navidrome's plugins to see what else it can do. But at the end of the day, I already tried Jellyfin's music library and wasn't too impressed. With the amount of music I have, I felt it was better to host it in a separate database to speed up Jellyfin's performance.
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u/madmap Aug 08 '26
PlexAmp was the one app keeping me from switching... but hearing that it stopped development and the dev left the company made me split my video and music lib: and for music I switched to navidrome with symphonium and audiomuse-ai to get the sonic analysis features.
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u/Bsnow1400 Aug 08 '26
I believe the plex cofounder who left (the dev you’re talking about I think) took PlexAmp with him. They’re now contractually related to Plex and he still develops its but it’s not a part of Plex the company.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/s/26V6DGEWjd
He also released another music engine
https://caldera.homes/music/
This is the post I found the information in where he said he’s still developing
https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/1vcli1k/elan_feingold_plex_cofounder_and_longtime_cto/6
u/madmap Aug 08 '26
yeah: but having 1 update for the last year speaks for itself. It's a pity...
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u/maxtimbo Aug 08 '26
I used TinyMediaManager for metadata of movies and shows. That eliminated any of the metadat/folder scan issues.
I agree with all of this and to add that jellyfin froze up a lot. I had it running in Docker and would have to restart it fairly often.
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u/OnyxPost 173TB+ of Content Aug 13 '26
I agree with all of this 100%. I'll also add that even though Plex abandoned its plug-in abilities, it's not 100% gone as servers which had plug-ins setup before they discontinued support, those installed plug-ins still work. Plus, a year or so ago they officially announced (though I think it's been around unofficial for at least a couple years longer than that) the support of their API functionality which allows for creating third party add-ons, such as creating your own metrics dashboard, updating various field values with external apps/scripts, and even creating your own client player that links to your server content.
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u/ScoobyDoo27 Aug 08 '26
There are tons of client apps now for iOS and Apple TV. It seems like only 6 months ago nothing existed and they all appeared out of nowhere. Give the Neptune app a try on Apple TV, it’s really good.
Plexamp is really good and nothing compares on Jellyfin. However, if you setup a navidrome server there are tons of client apps to choose from and a couple that I think are very comparable or slightly better than Plexamp (Navibeat and Sonamp).
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u/et_phone_homes Aug 08 '26
"Out of Claude they all appeared" 😅 Might be the cause
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u/HighSeasArchivist Aug 08 '26
I didn't mind Jellyfin locally, but man remote is just a hot smoking dumpster fire. Sure, you can do it, but unless you are willing to come set it up for my mom, aunt, and other boomers across the country then I don't want to hear it.
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u/iLLuSion_xGen Aug 08 '26
The work I have with metadata in Jellyfin and the pages (Plex has infinite scrolling) makes me go back to Plex all the time
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u/Grievy Aug 08 '26
I found Jellyfin to be a massive resource hog compared to Plex when I ran them side by side a few months back. I also have so many non-tech family members who appreciate the ease of plex and currently Jellyfin cannot match that.
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u/DoAndroidsDream1 Aug 08 '26
Is jellyfin local? I want a 100% local system. I don’t like plex having access to all my data.
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u/your6od Aug 08 '26
Don't quote me on this but I think Kodi is 100% local if you want it to be. It just plays the video file directly from the source as it is. Someone else confirm pls 🤔
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u/krebstorm Aug 08 '26
Same here. Running both. Sharing media libraries.
I'm starting to like jelly more and more.
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u/AfterShock i7-13700K | Gigabit Pro Aug 08 '26
A project to keep an eye on as Plex further moves towards commercialaism and Jellyfin development slows
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u/mouseylicense Aug 12 '26
it looks like an extremely interesting project, one thing that is important to note that it's basically an AI written project, reviewed by humans, by mostly AI
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u/sl0play N200 | 2x DS1522+ | 150TB Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
By sharing libraries do you mean meta-data and all that? I sometimes wonder how many movies people have when they talk about tuning both because my Plex install is like 300GB which isn't shit on my NAS but it's a lot on my N300 SSD.
Why would someone downvote me for this? Literally just asking if Plex and Jellyfin have to have their own separate metadata libraries.
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u/ogismyname Aug 08 '26
I started out on Jellyfin years ago. I switched over to plex just because of the ease of it. I was reluctant because of the Plex Pass and all, but my plex server runs without maintenance most of the time. I can easily share media and watch without troubleshooting or having to SSH into the server and fix something like I did with jellyfin. I’d be open to trying jellyfin again, the main thing that’s keeping me from it now besides the tinkering involved is having to pay to get a live TV channel guide (because I have the lifetime plex pass). Plex Live TV sucks though so maybe it’s worth it
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u/xfalsexflagx Aug 08 '26
I tried for a week to get Jellyfin to work with my file structure. Apparently the only solution is to completely redo every folder.
I have 40tb of shows. Hard pass on redoing it.
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u/jewfishh Aug 08 '26
I tried Jellyfin a while back but one big disadvantage it has to Plex is the lack of built-in subtitle retrieval. I don't know if it has been added since then, but the feature in Plex to just search for available subtitles and download them is very convenient.
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u/LogicTrolley Aug 09 '26
This isn't getting enough attention. The subtitle plugin in Jellyfin also sucks for finding most subs. Plex just works.
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u/ItsChalupaBatman Aug 08 '26
I wish Infuse would have a UI like jellyfin
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u/Sofa47 Custom Flair Aug 08 '26
The player for infuse is great but it’s just missing some of the organisation and takes a while to set up and get it how you want it on a new install.
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u/ItsChalupaBatman Aug 08 '26
Exactly. Does jellyfin even play everything like infuse ?
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u/tlhintoq Aug 08 '26
I've got a library spanning 6 drives of 14tb each. A few thousand movies. TV shows going back to Petticoat Junction and Mork & Mindy.
So far... I haven't found a single file that Plex played and Jellyfin didn't.
(Just one guy's experience anyway. Next guy could have found 50)
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u/SpoonyDinosaur Aug 08 '26
My parents struggled with Plex. Zero chance they'd be able to use jelly.
Have 48 people on my Plex.
That would be about 10 if I had to explain someone with an apple TV how to install LMAO
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u/eW4GJMqscYtbBkw9 Aug 08 '26
Have 48 people on my Plex
I don't even know 48 people, let alone know 48 people I trust with my... legitimately obtained movies and shows. Any time I see someone with more than like 10 people they share with, I assume they are selling access to their server.
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u/Rotozip Aug 08 '26
I keep both up and running. I have a couple of remote family members using my Plex server. I keep going over and trying different Jellyfin clients but end up back on Plex.
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u/trmentry Aug 08 '26
So its easier to spend 5 minutes a week to keep both server software's on parity than to deal with a massive change over all at once.
I just found out about this tool. JellyPlex-Watched. It can sync your watched info from media server to media server.
I have it sync in 1 direction only at the moment. plex --> jellyfin and plex --> emby. It works really well. Except that jellyfin didn't populate the 'continue watching' of the videos like emby did. but it did work for the where I left off thing. was super easy to setup and has a dryrun function to see what it will do before you alter databases.
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u/Net_Admin_Mike Aug 09 '26
Jellyfin will only reach the success of Plex if the devs bring parity to the end user client experience. Having to use different apps on different devices, and have some platforms like Roku lacking for any good app, will continue to hold them back from capturing the market. That is the one thing Plex has done better than anyone else, and since it impacts the non-technical end users, it’s the most important by far. The folks that build their own media servers can cycle through client apps until they find one they like pretty easily, but asking grandma to do that isn’t going to go well!
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u/OhK4Foo7 Aug 08 '26
Plex and Emby have more robust file scanning. I used to use Plex as a backend for Kodi but now I use emby for that. Still prefer jellyfin for remote access. Even if it's not as good of a file scanner.
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u/Punk_Says_Fuck_You 48TB | 10Gb/s | Unraid | Ultra 7 270k Plus Aug 08 '26
I run both. My main player is an Xbox which can't play my media if the internet goes out even with local auth set up correctly. I fire up jellyfin in those situations.
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u/LoremarCC Aug 08 '26
Running both. Started with Plex, shifted to Jellyfin, but keep Plex around to check in with once in a while. All pointing at the same files: no issues. Using Plezy you can even have them side by side in the same client.
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u/allessrs Aug 08 '26
Tenho plex pass mas parei de usar na época da transição da interface que era baseada no xbmc para essa nova. Plex era um kodi melhorada e eu adorava, achava excepcional a facilidade de controle apenas pelos direcionais do teclado. Comprei um Synology DS416play na época e os pesadelos do servidor começaram. Plex não deixava meus hds hibernarem, comprei Apple TV e comprei Box Android. Com isso, tive que abandonar a interface antiga e desde aí o Plex para mim foi piorando, piorando que resolvi testar o Jellyfin. Achei ok mas junto testei o Emby e …
Uso Emby desde então e nunca mais olhei para trás. Vida longa para ele. Tem alguns problemas tem, mas para meu uso e uso remoto da minha família o Emby tem sido fenomenal.
Único problema que tenho é na conversão de conteúdo Hdr e Dolby Vision, mas como vivo no Brasil e as conexões ainda são limitadas, disponibilizo 1080p e Hdr. Só escolher e ser feliz.
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u/cvzero89 Aug 08 '26
You can actually sync watched states between both. I do that for all of my users in case I ever flip the switch.
I got the Plex Pass at around $100 five years ago, I do have lots of issues with the direction but it still works and it solves the issue of having to open the server directly to the internet.
But if anything there's an easy migration waiting.
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u/Ritmo80s Aug 08 '26
On Samsung tvs the Jellyfin app looks like inconsistent trash design-wise, it’s the only reason I’ve kept using plex. Besides not having shuffle/random play for music videos
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u/TricksterTao BeeLink 12 Pro | LifetimePlexPass Aug 08 '26
I tried this but found Jellyfin to be an incredible time-suck in terms of troubleshooting. I spent literally months combing through old forum posts, as well as asking for help on the JF reddit, because after the initial install JF would refuse to launch. It turned out that I had to modify a line inf a config file because the default install folders for the app did not line up with the the default locations in the config file.
I then spent days trying to get remote access working and never got there, so shelved the whole thing. I don't like the new Plex interface, but at least it actually works for me.
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u/SwordsOfWar Aug 08 '26
Because Jellyfin is a decentralized service and Plex operates essentially as a centralized service, there are a LOT of pain points when it comes to using Jellyfin that are non existent on Plex.
As someone who enjoys his Plex Pass Experience, here are some of the issues you'll recognize when using Jellyfin that was never an issue on Plex: 1. Jellyfin requires a domain name if you plan to access the server outside of your home network. There are free subdomains you can get and configure to work but this involves extra research and implementation if you've never done this before, where as with Plex this is completely optional and not required. A paid domain will make this setup easier but currently will cost you 1-6$/year for a cheap one to keep it active. 2. Each Jellyfin server you access (like when a friend shares their library with you) has it's own individual account because there is no central server. So you need an account for each server that gets shared to you, and it's not convenient needing to switch between them to check for content. 3. No shared watchlist. Plex hosts your watchlist on their servers and it gets synced across any Plex server you have access to. Jellyfin watchlists and history is separate on each Jellyfin server just like the accounts are in #2 above. 4. Jellyfin falls behind Plex when it comes to app availability on devices. Plex simply supports more devices officially than Jellyfin does.
Some things that Jellyfin excels in where Plex falls short: 1. Offline playback. Because Jellyfin doesn't rely on a central server for core functionality, it remains operational on your home network even without an Internet connection. 2. Flexibility - Plugins (official + community supported) often extend functionality to do things that Plex is unlikely to ever support. If there is enough interest in supporting a certain type of media or feature, there is probably a plug-in for it. 3. Free - the main reason people consider jellyfin in the first place is that it's simply free.
For people that have already committed to paying for Plex pass, it would be much easier to use an alternative app to access your Plex server, such as Plezy, than to go through the trouble of setting up Jellyfin if you're main issue is the poor performance of the current Plex app. This is what I have done in the meantime while hopefully Plex can get their app sorted out within the next few months. Otherwise, I have been completely happy with my Plex experience.
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u/EternallySickened i have too much content. #NeverDeleteAnything Aug 08 '26
One thing I really don’t get with jellyfin is why they chose to use a different naming convention than Plex, the tmdb tagging has to be done differently than it does for Plex or jellyfin doesn’t auto match it. You can put both styles in the folder name but it starts to make your folder names a bit long and messy looking.
I also still prefer plex for setting things up, the options are a lot more intuitive and more customisable really but that’s just down to personal preference I suppose.
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u/snowmeow_1 Aug 08 '26
There's one reason why I don't even test Jellyfin. I have a TON of custom made manually edited metadata I've built into Plex. Some are are for special features not listed in TVDB/The Movie Database and some are custom created "seasons " that are companion series/ related miniseries.
Yes I can try using 3rd party apps to recreate the metadata but I can't trouble myself doing that if my Plex experience, warts and all, is working well enough.
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u/tlhintoq Aug 08 '26
Ok.
With millions of users there's naturally going to be edge cases.
My post wasn't meant to solve all the issues for millions of users. It was just to point out to 90% of them that they don't need to be afraid of trying something new side-by-side with what they know. And if they don't like it, no harm no foul.
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u/verdejt TerraMaster | 12TB | Beelink S12 Pro | Lifetime Pass Aug 09 '26
Like a lot of people stated I got my Plex pass when it was on sale for less than a hundred bucks. I use Plex front end on Apple TVs with no issues. I have a Beelink Mini PC as my server that pulls from a terra master NAS. I don't share outside my house and Plex for me runs flawless. I have so much time and effort invested in Plex I don't really see a reason to change now.
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u/JBib_ Aug 09 '26
I guess I'm the weird one because I don't hate the Plex client. Lol. It's not phenomenal. But, man.. being able to watch all my movie and listen to music and audiobooks anywhere in the world, is freaking cool to me. I feel like we can't ever get pleased, sometimes. I dunno. Probably won't be a popular opinion. 🤣
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u/franknitty69 Aug 09 '26
Jellyfin as a server is amazing. The clients are trash though. And that’s why plex will always be the primary option for me. Right now, nothing is beating the iOS app. And using it from the browser is painless.
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u/sm0keasaurusr3x Aug 10 '26
I’d use nothing but Jellyfin if it was easy to setup and maintain multiple remote clients. I set plex up once years ago. Jellyfin I kept making trips to my parents to fix issues.
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u/banana0ne_96 Aug 08 '26
I offer both, since I got the Lifetime Licence on the legacy pricing. But my users almost always pick Plex. Jellyfin's official apps are lacking, 3rd-party clients adds to the confusion at best, and the web UI is primarily still a mouse-first PC experience, even with custom themes. Plex is just so much simpler for everyday users: create an account, connect, and stream. No one really needs to know the back end.
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u/drkrupp Aug 08 '26
There's also Tofa, if you want to try a new plex alternative.
Found out about it just the other day, tried it, looks promising.
I'm not planning on leaving plex though but if you don't like what plex looks like or what they promote, you can use Plezy?
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u/destruction90 Aug 08 '26
How did you get this UI? My default Jellyfin looks like ass
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u/Nesterrr000777 Aug 08 '26
My Plex has been fine for years and years, no issues with remote streaming, everything up to date, not sure why there are so many complaints.
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u/LankyGuitar6528 Aug 08 '26
The only think I'd worry about is friends or family who have "smart" TVs that can't really load new software. I think most of those use Roku and fairly sure (not certain) that the TV just came with Plex. Either that or it was so easy to install Plex on Roku that they didn't bother calling me about it. Is there some easy way to install Jellyfin on Roku smart TVs?
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u/Duesenbert Aug 08 '26
Jellyfin is just another app you can download for Roku. No difference in difficulty there.
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u/citiz3nfiv3 Aug 08 '26
If I want to switch, how can I upload all the posters to Jellyfin? I finally switched to Kometa and have been directly linking to YAML files.
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u/TheHendryx Aug 08 '26
It's not about me, it's about my users. I'm not moving them to a whole new thing. Some of them can barely install apps..
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u/Dreams-Visions 90TB | 3,000+ Movies | 400+ Shows || Mac Mini + Synology Aug 08 '26
My 70+ year old mother required less than 5 minutes to get her Jellyfin client on her AppleTV AND iPhone AND iPad set up and working. It was faster than signing up with Plex because she didn’t need to make an account like you do with Plex before getting a share invite etc. Jellyfin? You just make their login credentials and help them with the server link. Done.
If my tech illiterate mom could get it done in minutes, you really have no reason to make excuses for others.
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u/13Krytical Aug 08 '26
These conversations are funny..
Plex isn’t comparable to jellyfin.
Plex has apps for every type of system and makes it easy for non tech people to use.
Jellyfin isn’t/doesn’t.
It’s that simple.
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u/Vast_Feature_1009 Aug 08 '26
Honestly, Jellyfin has been a godsend for me. I have a lifetime Plex Pass, but the constant barrage of advertisements and the hassle of fixing my interface every time they added or removed a new feature became too much. Day to day, Jellyfin is super easy to use and is on par with Plex from yesteryear.
The only slight challenge is that it requires a bit of initial effort to configure for outside connections. Since I run mine on a Synology server, it was quite straightforward to set up a container and open the necessary port.
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u/Tiareid1 Aug 08 '26
I have had plex ass lifetime for over a decade. I have never had an issue after any upgrade ever. Never see an add ?? Am assuming you are referring to live tv ? I don’t use it. I have me own movies and shows , that’s it. I don’t have any live channels or watchlist or discovery pinned . I only have half a dozen temote family users. Only time they mention plex is to ask for a particular movie/show.
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u/CyberSysOps Aug 08 '26
Maybe I'm just not using Plex to it's full potential or missing something but I don't understand the hate it gets.
I have my media brokendown into 8 libraries. Have Plex lifetime pass. And use the Google Chromecast and Google Smart TVs app on most cases. Or the windows app or browser if I'm watching from my PC.
I've only been with Plex for 2-3 years now so maybe I'm too new to it to know what these complaints are about. Or that the client apps I use aren't getting these terrible changes.
But I have no complaints about Plex.
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u/the_elkk Aug 08 '26
Same here. I tried Jellyfin and went back to Plex. It just works. I don't need remote viewing though. I watch movies and series at home. PlexAmp is my goto when on the road (through carplay).
It just works!
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u/Tiareid1 Aug 08 '26
My sentiments exactly . Plex just works. Never breaks down it’s superb.
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u/but_are_you_sure Aug 08 '26
It’s gone down multiple times when their auth servers have issues since it’s not fully self hosted
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u/Cuntonesian Aug 08 '26
Two common complaints
It’s not open source. This is mostly peddled by neckbeards who believe all software should be free. It doesn’t matter in practice, except for…
It’s becoming bloated with all new features being added: live TV, tidal, social media, etc. Plex is piracy software but somehow they are still figuring this out at Plex Inc, trying to become a legitimate streaming provider. This is the driver behind the enshitification
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u/No-Bat-1263 Aug 08 '26
Can you use jellyfish has music server like Plex amp outside of home has very crucial for me
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u/snowsurferDS Lifetime Plex Pass Aug 08 '26
Does Jellyfin support auto subtitle downloading and server side auto subtitle sync like Plex does? That's literally the only thing I really need since most people in my circle need subtitles for basically everything that isn't in Spanish, and it's been working really well with Plex for me (I'm on lifetime Plex since when it was 70 bucks or so).
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u/azukayx Aug 08 '26
Just install the subtitle plugin, or use bazarr. Jellyfin is basically modular, suits some people, and annoys others. But you can't beat free.
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u/fbman01 Aug 08 '26
I stay with plex, because plex does what I need it for. I bought my plex pass 10 years ago.
I don’t share my media outside my home network, I have actually disabled that in my settings. I use it to stream content to my two tvs. One is a smart tv, the other one has a media player. Both can stream at the same time, with no issues. My son stream content from plex to his tablet.
It plays all the files I throw at it, never had an issue. So there is no need for my switch to anything else
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u/lkeels Lifetime Plex Pass|i7-8700|2080Ti|64GB Aug 08 '26
Can't deal with Jelly's handling of collections. Until they fix that, I won't change.
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u/veaceonee Aug 08 '26
Doesn't Jellyfin have a different naming protocol for TV shows than plex?
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u/Glad_Obligation1790 Aug 08 '26
NaviFin is in development for Jellyfin and available on TestFlight for those who want to try a new app for free. Doesn’t work with plex tho.
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u/Zak88lx Aug 08 '26
is Plex Pass worth it, I only use Plex as a tool to connect my client (FireTV) to my Plex server (PC) to watch movies.
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u/nn_shutter Aug 08 '26
After enabling the local network thing so if plex servers goes down, plex still works... Plex has been working great in my home for years without a hitch.
Yes, some changes aren't ideal, but I still find my shows/movies and watch them.
That's all I need it to do.
I tried jellyfin a few years ago as a backup, but didn't like it.
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u/aleksiz_15 Aug 08 '26
I have plex and jellyfin,but just using it as a "library manager". And using Plezy as my main player in both TV and mobile.Best combination so far.
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u/positivcheg Aug 08 '26
I’m a simple guy, used it in path side by side on raspberry pi small setup. Honestly for my use case I haven’t noticed the difference so I’ve just picked up the free one.
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u/drostan Aug 08 '26
I use both, I started with Plex, then moved to use jellyfin primarily
Main difference for me is remote access since I have some limitations due to my isp Plex is a better option to share with other users as I keep my tailscale strictly private.
Now if like me you like to track what you watch and end up tracking in 4 different places that offer similar but not quite the same functions, and you like to watch your file locally in your local player, then do as I do and spend month building your own database and link to all those API to make your own tool that only works locally.... I made it overcomplicated
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u/abmot Aug 08 '26
I started on Jellyfin, and it's ok for my own use. But I share my library with some non-local family members who are not technically inclined. I want it to be easy for them to install a client. Plex makes my life easier with supported clients for different TV manufacturers, streaming devices.
I'll make it easy on myself and not worry about switching unless I have to.
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u/Goldengod4818 Aug 08 '26
My bigger concern is user conversion. Plex is easily available across devices. But as I type this I realize I could just leave them on Plex and use jellyfin myself for my own benefit....ok you convinced me to turn my jellyfin container back on
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u/InevitableDapper2970 Aug 08 '26
I tried Jelly first. had issues with subtitles (non English ones). tried Plex. It worked fine out the box. Stayed with plex.
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u/tardisious Aug 08 '26
I've found Emby to be adequate. Don't like the lack of movie trailers though
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u/Turbulent_Algae_4390 Aug 08 '26
I've been saying this for a while now! Plex works just fine for me about 98% of the time so I have no complaints! Jellyfin is super fun to tinker with so I like it too! When you point both at the same library it makes things almost effortless to maintain. A couple of plugins like Watchstate and Plexyfin and now they're both pretty much synchronized! This is definitely the way! 😎
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u/vierschachtelnziesen Aug 08 '26
For me both have issues. Plex:
- The sharing of libraries doesn't work anymore. Maybe it's because it runs on docker on unraid?
- tracking with trakt isn't reliable for some reason
Jellyfin:
- sometimes, I have to wait a few seconds until the subtitles are loaded, where Plex doesn't have this issue with the same media files
- audio library seems to be worse than with Plex and with Plex I use plexamp to listen on the go
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u/Tech_Supp88 Aug 08 '26
I have friends log into my plex server on their TV's which was a super simple setup with plex pass.
Are you able to do the same thing on jellyfin or is it local only?
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u/Academic-Log9738 Aug 08 '26
J'ai le Plexpass nous sommes 5 serveurs différents..plezy restera la meilleure alternative
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u/sylsylsylsylsylsyl Aug 08 '26
I believe there are containers you can run that synchronise the list of what's been watched too.
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u/Dreams-Visions 90TB | 3,000+ Movies | 400+ Shows || Mac Mini + Synology Aug 08 '26
I did the same. My Jellyfin libraries update a couple times a week. Complete parity, no issues. If Plex is being weird, I just turn on Jellyfin instead. It took my mom (70+) about 5 minutes to get Jellyfin working on her TV.
I actually have no idea why everyone doesn’t have both up and running.
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u/BackgroundSoggy4362 Aug 08 '26
With 24TB of Media mainly 50ish gig 4k files I find using Plex as the server side and Infuse client on Apple 4k TV works the best for me. No issues with Transcoding or HDR/HDR+ & DoVi as everything is direct streamed to Infuse. Only downside is I end up converting all DoVi P7 to P8 as the Apple TV doesn’t support DoVi P7 and would always fall back to HDR.
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u/ravencroft18 Aug 08 '26
Hmm, I still love my Plex but maybe it's time I learned more about different servers and how to get them to work on a QNAP NAS... 🤔
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u/jvward Aug 08 '26
I started normally “accessing” plex through Infuse on iOS/Apple TV once they started ramming their own services/sharing into their app 1-2 years ago. For sharing access with other people plex is still the easiest solution for me (which i do a lot of). I have a reverse proxy setup and jellyfin setup, and could switch at any point but considering I own plex it’s just easier since they manage the idp. I would also have to migrate a bunch of people and some of them are “techno idiots” so I would need to go actually do it for them.
I honestly have considered using plexes idp with sharing other self-hosted services with friends, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.
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u/ben_r_ Aug 08 '26
I run both too on a Synology NAS and have for years now. The JellyFin clients are what need the work, not so much the server.
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u/reaperofpower Aug 08 '26
I would be interested to know how long did it take you to setup plex and the how long it took for you to get jellyfin to that same state my guess would be way more time compared to plex
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u/West-Ticket5411 Aug 08 '26
I test Jellyfin every once in awhile to see how it is improving. While there has been decent progress, there's still too many issues to ever consider switching and a lot of basic Plex functionality requires plugins that may or may not work or be updated in every use case; whereas Plex is straightforward and required very little tinkering.
If I were younger, I would have been fine with the tinkering, and most of my use case would be desktop which is fine. But nowadays, less time to tinker, rarely just watch at my desktop, and have about 10 users that use my server (most of which don't have good or any client apps), it's a non-starter.
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u/rgdarkchild Aug 08 '26
Yeah I run both Plex is more for my less tech friendly family. And I use jellyfin for myself and my more tech friendly family and friends.
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u/thelizardking0725 Aug 08 '26
My main use case for Plex is music (Plexamp). The iOS app is damn near perfect for me — is there a comparable free iOS app that works with Jellyfin?
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u/NewmanOnGaming Aug 08 '26
I’ve often find myself going back to emby for movies and tv shows. I’ll only use plex for music and Plexamp.
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u/thiagohds Aug 08 '26
Theres a client on android tv for jellyfin called Wholphin and its A LOT better than plex. It has a very good integration with seer and you can set different subtitle styles for HDR and SDR content which solves the problem of very bright subtitles for the DV files so I can set HDR style for grey while keeping white for SDR content like anime.
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u/berrywhit3 Aug 08 '26
I was Plex user, I tried also Jellyfin, but imo Emby is just the best of both worlds: you have way better TV views and channel management, plugins! and a lot of clients like Plex.
Yes Plex is the prettiest of all them, but if you buy a lifetime license and suddenly you have problems with subtitles on of the most powerful TV boxes, this is a no go for me.
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u/vypergts Aug 08 '26
I do this and also run Watchstate to keep them synced. Considering setting up Emmy too after the recent spaceinvaderone video since it’s external user management is closer to Plex which I prefer.
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u/No_Grass6654 Aug 08 '26
I use plex as the backend since I have lifetime i bought back when it was like $80 or something like that, and use Infuse as my frontend. havent looked back at all. Jellyfin runs in parallel just as a backup in case plex is having issues and cant authenticate for whatever reason
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u/twistwanwitme Aug 08 '26
I know this is not relevant to this particular topic, but I tried letting Plex loose on my music library (not a movies guy), while Jriver MC is my main software.
wwWWOWWww.
MC is the only way.
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u/Hagfish77 Aug 08 '26
Just did this 2 nights ago.. Been a Plex user for years and years but we only really stream our library in the house.. My son leaves for 1st year of college this week and still wants access to our media. Ain’t no way in hell I’m paying for the pass so I fired up JF and within less than an hour I had it all set up and all of his devices logged into Tailscale and remote streaming working great.. I get how it’s maybe not the easiest for a non technical person but for me it was quite simple (and free) 👍
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u/GBAbaby101 Aug 08 '26
I recently found out about Fladder while looking more into how to make my Jellyfin experience better as a user than Plex. So far, Fladder has hit most of the beats I need it to, and I think I can get some more beats hit with some server side configuration and touch up. The biggest question I'm going to have is "will it be user friendly for setting up an account for others?" I just use reverse proxy, so no one has to fiddle with VPN things and I don't need to play tech support for that nonsense, so after I try out some other things and getting my Wizarr configured nicely, hopefully I'll get a seemless account creation guide ready for family and friends XD
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u/ioshta Aug 08 '26
I have used both. while there are some things I like about plex, the loss of functionality when internet goes out is a massive deal breaker. the 700 dollar plex pass, and lastly them having my data. hell no.
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u/Zatchillac i5-11400 | 16GB | 3TB SSD | 101TB HDD Aug 08 '26
I could never get Jellyfin to stop using 100% of my CPU when nothing is happening. Spent a short amount of time trying to fix it but that ffmpeg thing would just constantly be hammering my CPU so now while I have Jellyfin installed and setup I don't actually leave it running unless I want to use it
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u/CombinationInside714 Aug 08 '26
The Plex app was just about perfect before on a tv. Now, it's flipping impossible to find things especially between servers and sources. Absolutely detest it. If they really want to kill their business they're doing a good job because that user interface is what people experience when they're watching something and it currently sucks
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u/Lkings1821 Aug 08 '26
I think Jellyfin will probs win out eventually just due to the open source nature of it, but yeah it's always a good thing to say instal it at the same time, point it at the same files Plex see's and then see what happens, as you then get to see what works and what doesn't
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u/plexguy Aug 08 '26
My complaint is the client software is the issue. Roku has become total garbage. I replaced the Ultra with the new top of the line ONN unit from Walmart which was substantallty cheaper than Roku.
The Roku has good specs but evidently they don't know how to write software. Or they fired those people to better serve their customers as they say in Corporate speak.
Hopefully android will keep making good Plex clients. Also would like to see beefier hardware as if you have a large library some of the boxes become sluggish on Plex.
Might be a Plex issue as on a computer all is good but on the Roku recently it doesn't play shows it used to play. Fine on the PC and also on the high end ONN box so am guessing it could be Plex falling down on the job and not helping developers make good apps for the devices.
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u/casualuser1983 Aug 08 '26
I have all 3 installed. We use emby mostly in our house. I started off with Plex but my wife eventually converted me over to emby. We don't use jellyfin much in our household but it's there if we ever decide if we need too.
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u/saintrobyn Aug 08 '26
I did just this and ended up sticking with Jellyfin and dropped Plex from my server. I was a Plex free tier user for years, pretty much since they started, and the degradation over the years after the VCs got ahold of them just turned me off. I played with Jellyfin a while back and found it to be lacking. After the increase of the Plex lifetime pass to almost $800 I gave Jellyfin another serious shot and found it coupled with Infuse on my AppleTV gave me an incredible experience. I just can’t go back.
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u/chrsschb Aug 08 '26
I have no issues with plex other than the web player being dog shit and skipping constantly.
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u/Ajsc93 Aug 09 '26
The Plex server is working great for me, never had an issue with video playback, remtote play, or direct play on any of my clients. Unless they remove my lifetime pass for some reason, I'm not migrating.
But the Plex app has been giving a lot of issues lately with a couple of bugs and random crashes sometimes. But the new UI update where they removed the sidebar for that horrible submenu was too much.
I found out about Plezy, and my god, it's sooo much better than the crappy official client. It looks fantastic, runs great, and the fact that I can track and sync my Anilist and Trakt lists is incredible.
I would recommend people try Plezy if they are having issues with the official app.
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u/Multaro527 Aug 09 '26
Its for me, the easy access for my parents via plex account. No url typing or other possible error
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u/TwoToneReturns Aug 09 '26
Got Plex lifetime way back in time for about $50, I've installed Jellyfin as well due to my internet having its moments and Plex having its moments due to my poor internet. Jellyfin doesn't skip a beat with my crappy internet.
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u/Painschkes Aug 09 '26
I would love to use jellyfin more, but the "recently added" section is always wrong, compared to plex. If something new gets added, Plex scans for it, puts in in the right orde, in Jellyfin its all over the place. Thats a big nono for me.
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u/Wheeljack7799 Aug 09 '26
I've been using Plex since 2015 or so, and bought a lifetime plex pass after subscribing for a few years. I've had no issues with it at all, until a few months ago. For the most part, it works just fine but there are the little things that annoy me and reported bugs (by multiple people) that doesn't seem to be fixed (or even acknowledged by Plex, presumably because the issues aren't "big enough" to warrant fixing.
The issues I encounter has primarily to do with casting. Can't cast "extras" to chromecast via using the app, subtitles stop working after a few minutes while casting to chromecast. The latter is a big one for me as I am not a native English speaker and I cannot blast the volume just to hear dialogue clearly. Also an issue that has dozens of threads on the Plex forums dating back an eternity with no apparent fix in sight.
It annoyed me so much that I on a whim decided to look for alternatives. Looked at Jellyfin (which looks awesome btw), but I didn't want to deal with all the config. Tried Emby a couple of weeks back and so far the transition has been flawless. I will run both in parallel for a bit and see which one i prefer, but so far Emby is looking great for me.
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u/Plastic-Dependent Plex Lifetime 24tb Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
Jellyfin is great, it has a cool plugin i can't mention here that i use as a backup when i quickly want to stream something not on my hard drive.
One thing i don't like about it is the subreddit over there, they always blame user error without even reading about the issue and can never absorb valid feedback for the app, and people I’ve spoken to that
-blame you for not reading the documentation (when you did), only use the server for themselves,
-say direct play is useless because they transcode everything and that’s the entire point of a media server while accusing me of having issue because i didn't read the documentation and then shifted to saying my media quality is shite (whilst transcoding everything)
-and don't care about their AMD or Nvidia GPU using a bunch of power (because they don't have a dozen people using it throughout the week)
don't understand why I don't want to explain how to sideload a specific JF client onto my busy or non-tech savvy friend's or family's device just so they can actually see .ass subtitles and have the client actually work properly, even then some apps had features like subtitle and audio switching missing when I finally found one that plays videos directly. They almost seem salty or something, they're extremely rude or dismissive over relatively small things.
Also wanna add this happened 2 mins after someone warned me this exact thing will happen because that subreddit can't handle criticism and he was right.
The plex subreddit is much better because we can kinda all agree the app is becoming shite but still has its upsides. I love the Jellyfin program though, it has a few issues with polish but it is so much more flexible and I love how I can just give someone a URL with their username and it'll work without needing plex, but if it's someone who watches stuff that needs a good client I can just give them a plex login because I already paid for it and it's the option of least resistance.
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u/rh681 Aug 09 '26
I imagine what led people to Plex was it "just worked" and had polish. I find Emby a much better alternative than Jellyfin.
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u/BluntieDK Aug 09 '26
My only reason not to go on Jellyfin is that my TV doesn't support the app, and I don't have a living room rig yet
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u/TeamTJ Aug 09 '26
I tried jellyfin, but it didn't like me having tv series in separate drives. Think c:\friends\season 1 and d:\friends\season 2
And there are valid reasons for them to live on different drives.
Maybe that will change one day.
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u/davidlgood Aug 09 '26
HUGE difference between Toyota and Mazda. That aside, I like everything else stated. Thanks for the post.
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u/No-Pen9082 Aug 09 '26
For me, Plexamp is the reason for not thinking about switching. Sonic adventure, guest DJ, and Artist mix builder are features that I have yet to see anywhere else - and I use them constantly. Plexamp has changed the way I listen to my music.
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u/yullari27 Aug 09 '26
I use Emby as my backup server. It works well, but I miss some of the Plex features. I may give Jellyfin a try depending on how well remote access works.
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u/macnteej Aug 09 '26
I run both. Plex is mainly used for family with its ease of use, and jellyfin for local playback
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u/gjpinc Aug 10 '26
Happy with Plex…been using it for years. Bought the Pass on a deal for $29 years ago. I use it to manage my library, move movies to my iPad and watch on TV. I travel a lot between 2 places and use Apple TV to watch my content remotely. No problems whatsoever.
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u/brokewash Aug 10 '26
I have had both running side by side for a few months now and I still can't choose lol.
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u/Miles_Wolf Aug 10 '26
Real question: what are the problems or complaints with Plex? I use it, and I am having a good experience with it. The thing is that I think I have the previous to the latest version, so maybe it gets bad in this newer version?
The only real thing I don't like of Plex is not being able to add a video to a collection that is not detected by the databases that Plex uses. For example I want to add a series that was made here in my local TV from Catalonia (Spain) and I can't.
What does improve Jellyfin from Plex?
PD: I have Plex server on a Synology NAS and the client on a Nvidia Shield TV Pro, if anyone asks.
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u/DaFish456 Aug 12 '26
I found converting the files to be .mkv or .mov to work in possibly the situation you are talking about. my wife had a lot of .mp4 video files because she watches Vietnamese comedy and I used Powershell to convert them using a tool. Super easy to use once you download the command ffmpeg.
link to FFmpeg
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u/take_down_king Aug 11 '26
the problem i found with a dual Plex (dominate) and Jellyfin set up is I can have one video folder in Plex for Shows and Movies and Plex (for the most part) can tell the difference and separate it in Plex as category TV Shows and category Movies where a Jellyfin dumps everything into on category (in my cases) Movies). In Jellyfin, it forces me to choose one or the other or setup two separate folders one called TV and one call Movies but then you no long having Jellyfin just mirroring your Plex.
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u/Elementalzx14 Aug 12 '26
I believe there is an app called Plezy that lets you combine both and still use the same UI
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u/ReadyMatter9517 Aug 12 '26
Cant find a decent player for apple tv so im stuck with plex. (Free version i vpn into my home network when away from home)
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u/Vinnecent Aug 12 '26
I actually bought Plex lifetime and wanted to use it so bad(because of the ps5 app), I just can't get it running on my server 😭.
Sadly still using Jellyfin...
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u/nades_all_night Aug 12 '26
I’m currently using Plex and have been for near 15 years. Jellyfin is drastically more user friendly from the minimal amount I’ve used it on Apple & Linux distros (I’m by no means a Jellyfin pro), and it’s hard to beat the pricing model! There are plenty of things I wish Plex had or would allow, but the sad situation is, I’ve had it so long I’m grandfathered into it basically.
I’m extremely judgmental when it comes to software design (aesthetics), and neither of these, or any media servers for that case, are where they should be design wise. If there are any other design sticklers out there that have recommendations, please, please , pleeeease, drop me a recommendation. Customizable, skinable, or themeable media servers that any of you have experience with, would be great! 👍
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u/BabaBooey1984 Aug 12 '26
I really want Jellyfin to succeed, and I think it's impressive how far an entirely free and open-source project has come. But for me, it's still not a realistic replacement for Plex.
My biggest issue is the overall user experience, both for the server owner and the people actually using it. Jellyfin still feels rough around the edges, and you need plugins for so many things that I would expect to be built in. That adds complexity, creates more things to configure and maintain, and makes the whole experience feel less cohesive.
Plex, for all its faults, is mostly plug-and-play. You install it, add your libraries, make a few adjustments, invite your users, and you're basically done. Jellyfin requires considerably more tinkering to get everything working and looking the way you want, and even after doing that, the clients and overall experience still don't feel as polished or consistent as Plex.
The server itself is capable, and I completely understand why people prefer Jellyfin's open-source and self-hosted approach. I keep checking in on it because I'd genuinely like it to become a viable Plex replacement for me. But right now, Plex is simply easier to run and provides a much better experience for both me and my users.
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u/TenuredProfessional Aug 13 '26
I much prefer Jellyfin + Infuse on my AppleTV, but I stick with Plex because setting Jellyfin access up for members of my family (who live in different locations) is just too big a pain in the ass.
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u/Prestigious-Tea-8816 Aug 13 '26
i have been running jellyfin and plex side by side for years never run into a problem .
plex client is better on my tv and jellyfin is better on my phone , also if anyone is looking for a good plex client i found plezy to be pretty good.
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u/OnyxPost 173TB+ of Content Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
To add to this idea of running both side by side, you can name your content files so that they meet both Plex and Jellyfin naming standards at the same time, so that Plex will automatically create "Edition" field values for your movies and Jellyfin will automatically create "Version" field values for your movies. Both platforms haven't gotten fleshed out enough to allow for automatically adding the same values to series and episodes, yet it is being worked on so I'm sure it'll be in both apps soon.
Jellyfin is a bit more strict about how your music files need to be organized, so my current preferred structure doesn't meet Jellyfin standards like it does Plex's, so instead of changing my whole setup, I created a script to produce directory junctions to trick Jellyfin into thinking my music file structure meets its standards.
So you can definitely have your setup meet the requirements of both environments without having to do constant manual tweaks if you properly plan ahead.
My long term goal is to fully switch to Jellyfin as it adds more functionality and matures, yet as OP stated, you can most certainly have them setup side-by-side to get familiar with the differences between them and help make suggestions for both of them in the hopes that they'll both improve even further well into the future.
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u/Marill-viking Aug 08 '26
Started on jelly but had issues and moved to plex. Got the pass before the 2nd to most recent bump.
The easy of sharing my media is what keeps me with plex.