this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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Honest question, because I know multiple people who are not looking to jump ship since they already have the Plex Pass.

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[–] Ibuthyr@lemmy.wtf -3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Jellyfin was one of the easiest things to set up though.

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I see plenty of comments suggesting it's not the set it and forget it that Plex is.

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world -5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I have set up both. Honestly Jellyfin was MUCH more easy to setup because Plex requires a very specific way to setup the network otherwise it craps its pants and refuses to work on LAN.

But after figuring out those pain points, both are set and forget. The main differences are privacy concerns vs wide access outside of LAN and on more devices.

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Great; post your guide/instructions showing how easy it was.

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)
  1. Copy the compose.yaml from https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-jellyfin/#user-group-identifiers and adjust, e.g.:
services:
  jellyfin:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/jellyfin:latest
    container_name: jellyfin
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Europe/Madrid
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config
      - ./media:/media
    ports:
      - 8096:8096
      - 8920:8920
      - 7359:7359/udp
    restart: unless-stopped
  1. Run docker compose up -d

  2. Navigate to http://<IP>:8096

  3. Follow the wizard to create a user and libraries.

  4. Profit


Steps for Plex:

  1. Copy the compose.yaml from https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-plex/?h=plex#umask-for-running-applications and adjust, e.g:
***
services:
  plex:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/plex:latest
    container_name: plex
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - VERSION=docker
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config
      - ./media:/media
    ports:
      - 32400:32400
    restart: unless-stopped
  1. Run docker compose up -d

  2. Navigate to http://<IP>:32400

  3. Create an account with Plex, give them your email and create a password with the specific requirements they impose. Agree with their use policy and confirm the pop-ups about ads and such.

  4. You can now watch Plex media. Clicking your media will only have a link to https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/

  5. Look everywhere to figure out where to add your local media and give up.

  6. Look in Google and no one has this issue.

  7. Spend a few hours trying and give up.

BTW, the issue there that took me months to figure out is that while Plex documentation says that you only need to expose that port, it only works in network host mode, so unless you give it full control of your network it just refuses to work.

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I see more open ports for Jellyfin than I do for plex…..

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So? Jellyfin only needs 8096, the other two are https and lan discovery, you can also add 1900 for DNLA. On the other hand Plex has 8 additional configurable ports for other stuff, but that's besides the point because it requires network_mode: host otherwise it pretends it can't be seen.

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago

The fact that Plex does not even have settings for hardware encoding, besides on/off, tells me that's bullshit

[–] too_high_for_this@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I don't know why you're getting downvoted. I set up Jellyfin like a month ago and it took about two minutes.

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Great; now stream remotely. And setup an app on an AppleTV.

[–] Ibuthyr@lemmy.wtf 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Streaming remotely via tailscale is fairly easy. Cloudflare tunnel apparently works too, although it is against their ToS.

Can't speak for Apple TV though. Setting up clients on Android based systems is as easy as entering the server address and then logging in.

The jellyfin service was super easy to set up. I just set up the container in Unraid and was done with that. Took me a minute or two.

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 1 month ago

But what about a Jellyfin? Have you setup Jellyfin‽ it’ll solve all your streaming problems, that Jellyfin! Forget about any other alternatives, Jellyfin! JELLYFIN!!!

[–] idunnololz@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Maybe but the process is really annoying. I have to backup my 4tb library, make the switch, if it doesnt work I have to revert.

I don't have a spare 6tb drive either so i would need to buy one.

Besides, i already have a plex lifetime membership so most of the new changes do not affect me.

I could just risk it and do the upgrade raw, but I would be pretty upset if I lost my data due to the switch.

[–] lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

What? Just point Plex or Jellyfin at the same media library