I've never understood how Jellyfin vs Plex can be so polarizing
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2025
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I work on Jellyfin. I once posted saying Plex is not a competitor because we are not in a race, so there is no such thing as "winning."
So... many... angry... responses.
I don't get it either. Most of us just want to help by signaling there is an alternative but maybe people are resistant to let go because they paid for Plex, I think.
jellyfin welcomes you with open arms
Yet can't find a way to install it on my old Tizen..... Pain.
i also would be on Tizen OS, got myself a cheap used NVidia Shield TV and use this now. debloated it etc.
Magnitudes of order better experience than fucking Tizen
This is for remote streaming. Can Jellyfin be accessed outside the network? I thought that was the difference.
Like if I didn't like Plex and I ran Jellyfin (and I have done), I could access it locally but I couldn't access it, say, from a hotel a thousand miles away. Or it requires a lot more work (and maybe some paid service) to do.
Plex may have gone up, but a bunch of us got it for $100 or less years ago and we are not affected by the new limitations. Still free for our family members accessing remotely. Wasn't free for us to set up.
Yes it can be accessed outside the network. We use Tailscale. Our Jellyfin setup cost us the energy to run it, lol.
Can Jellyfin be accessed outside the network?
Yes. Jellyfin is just a Docker container. It can be accessed the same as any other Docker container. Plex simplifies this because they can basically configure all the DNS stuff for you, because it goes through their DNS. But either can be accessed.
Or it requires a lot more work (and maybe some paid service) to do.
More specialized knowledge to configure Tailscale or a reverse proxy, yes. I use Yunohost which makes all of this a whole lot simpler.
Sorry to be a pendantic ass. But. Jellyfin, in and on itself, has absolutely nothing to do with docker.
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Jellyfin* can be accessed outside of your network but it would be best to have set up a vpn so that it isn't open to anyone to try logging in
https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/post-install/networking/
Edit: oops, meant jellyfin not plex lol.
You absolutely can access it from outside your network if you configure it that way.
I don't run Jellyfin, but I've considered it. From what I understand, you have to set up a reverse proxy or something like Tailscale in order to access it remotely. Doing that safely can take a bit of learning, but the only part that could cost money is getting a domain name.
Is a domain name strictly necessary though? You would need a static IP. I thought you needed something like a VPS or VPN — I know what a VPN is, but I think it was something with a similar acronym — and that was a service that cost money.
With Plex it just works. When I load up Plex on a remote machine, first it tells me my server is offline, because my server is a Mac and Macs are sleepy bois, so it wakes up the Mac, which wakes up the drives, and then the server loads up and I can play pretty much anything.
I've ran Jellyfin on both Mac (current setup) and Windows/Intel. I like Jellyfin overall, and it does some cool things Plex doesn't. Like you can fix details Plex won't let you. Like for some reason it only lists the foreign actors in anime, you can manually specify the English voices if you want. Plex doesn't let you do that and AFAIK there's no way to. (There should be an API out there that taps into a service that lets you access any language cast, and there should be a way to set it to dynamically change the cast to whatever language you have selected.) But anyway, Jellyfin is somewhat fine, but to use it on other devices (e.g. an Apple TV box on the same network), you have to do a fair bit of configuring. It's not just, log into the account on your phone and type in the text on the screen. Jellyfin doesn't even prioritise Apple development, but they have come a long way.
Honestly the others in this comment section would be better to ask about accessing Jellyfin remotely, but I can tell you what I know.
If you go the VPN route, Tailscale is typically recommended, which appears to be free for personal use. It looks like these are the docs for using Tailscale with Jellyfin.
I host a couple services for my family using a reverse proxy (nginx through SWAG), and I have a free domain name with duckdns. This is not as secure as the above tailscale solution, but has worked for me so far. This is likely how I would add Jellyfin to my workflow, since I already have a reverse proxy and domain name.
Doing it safely is pretty simple.
Install Tailscale at both ends. Done.
It's a fully encrypted mesh VPN.
If you need access without the TS client on the other end, that takes a little more work. Then you need to enable the Funnel option.
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I also bought Plex years ago for 87€ but i gifted that account to a friend once i got jellyfin up and running.
You're right - Jellfyin doesn't have a native built-in way to access it from outside. That's the reason Plex intercepts with their own servers when you do remote streaming, that's one of the aspects you pay for.
Using tailscale (free and setup in like 5 min) you can access jellfin from everywhere. Easy peasy.
Rumor says that Plex also denies you remote access when you use a VPN or mesh like tailscale.... so ymmv
Rumor says that Plex also denies you remote access when you use a VPN or mesh like tailscale… so ymmv
Never had any issues remote streaming via VPN.
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As open as the source? (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞
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Okay, let's clarify something.
Plex has been essentially "giving away" a service for the better part of what, 20 years?
And that service is the remote proxying of your server and its access. Basically, you didn't need to open a port, expose your server to the public, Plex provided a proxy through which you could stream to your heart's content, knowing that your server is both accessible and (more or less, more than if you managed it yourself in most cases) secure.
Now obviously, they are a company and thus need to make revenue to continue developing the server, clients, and maintaining the infrastructure. Mind you, Plex has 25 million active monthly users... Even if just 10% of that is active at any given moment, streaming at 10Mbps... that's 25 MILLION megabits per sec. 25 thousand gigabits. 25 terabits. PER. SECOND. Being proxied through infra Plex has to pay for. Your average proxy/CDN dataserver unit can do usually around 100 gigabit, meaning Plex needs 250 of those. Just to serve 10% of the userbase.
And don't forget that, unlike "traditional streaming platforms" where CDNs can greatly amplify bandwidth (due to repeating same content to thousands/millions of people), Plex can't easily utilise this infrastructure approach, AND they have to constantly stream INTO the proxy as well as outwards (a CDN pulls in the source file once and then distributes it, Plex literally needs to pull the data stream on-demand, without storing it).
I don't like these restrictions they're putting in, "enshittifying" the service - e.g. if I have my server forwarded properly and don't need to go through their proxy, I should be given a free pass (albeit I already have that since I bought lifetime Plex Pass), but I do get how it would be annoying for the average user to not realise why they're asked to pay when their friend isn't.
They are requiring Plex Pass for all remote sessions, even ones which don't go through plex servers, where your client connects to your remote plex server directly. IMO, this should not require Plex Pass if the remote stream is not going through Plex's server.
Also since the April 2025 update where they required the payment, the "new experience" apps have been terrible, and people have been side loading the old apps because they retain core functionality. Maybe there was a technical reason to release new apps to enforce the Plex Pass requirements, but it has been a terrible experience being told to pay money and then getting a worse experience, compared to what was free a year ago.
For me, the value add of Plex is their maintenance and support of the apps on various platforms and the authentication and connection management. I do have my server port forwarded, so there's no reason for them to handle my media streams. Being able to tell a new user that all they need to do is download an app from a trusted app repository and create a free account so I can invite them to my libraries is a super simple experience for most skill levels and well worth the $60 or so I spent on a lifetime Plex pass over a decade ago.
I get that there are use cases where it makes more sense to go with a completely free solution like JellyFin, but many critics of Plex act like ALL they are doing is serving user-supplied media on a web server, and that's a gross misrepresentation of their offering.
I don't love the IPTV stuff that they do, but it's not that difficult to tweak the current app so that only my libraries are shown. Compared to an experience like my smart TV which is shoving ads down my throat and adding steps to get to the apps I want, it's an experience I can live with if it keeps Plex in the black.
Even if just 10% of that is active at any given moment, streaming at 10Mbps… that’s 25 MILLION megabits per sec.
Streaming traffic doesn't usually go through Plex's server, though. That only happens with "indirect streams", which usually means something is wrong with your connection and they are capped at like 2 mbps.
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I used Plex, and have a lifetime account, for the past decade. I just switched over to Jellyfin this week.
Feel free to ask any questions that you have about differences or my opinion.
Why did you switch if you already have a lifetime plex pass? With that, it costs nothing for anyone else to stream from your server.
I would not update to windows 11. I installed Bazzite and Jellyfin was a one click install. Plex was more involved. Plus Plex seems to be well on its way to enshitification.
@RunJun
Same here, had a lifetime license very early, ultra cheap but stopped using it a longtime ago, I think they changed the license or something along those lines that made me not trust them anymore.
I used kodi for a longtime but recently switched to jellyfin, never been happier.
Seeing they turned into another one of those big companies that just whant to trap you I'm even happier with my choice
@along_the_road
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Ah a stream of enSHITification.
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