No one is keeping you from hosting server/data/internet/compute.
You are not paying plex for that.
You want someone to code mediaserversoftware for you? Then you need to pay half a coffee a month.
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Plex (software) is still free as a “mediaserversoftware” for someone within the same house as the server. For some unknown reason, as soon as you step outside your front door, you have to pay Plex the privilege of continuing to do so. Nothing about stepping outside the house involves Plex (company) any more than using Plex (software) inside the house.
The sudden requirement to pay Plex (company) has nothing to do with Plex’s (company’s) own operational costs or development costs.
Actually, it does. Plex provides infrastructure to ensure that those outside of your house:
- Can find the IP address and forwarded port of your Plex server
- Can communicate securely with your Plex server without requiring you or your users to manage SSL certificates or dynamic DNS
- Can be authorised to access your Plex server
None of that matters and is irrelevant as at some point Plex need to charge users so that they are able to support, develop and provide the software (regardless of whether their latest app is currently a steaming pile of … they still need funds to do what they do). For whatever reason they’ve decided the previous income model wasn’t working for them and this was the appropriate change. You may not like it or agree with it, but it is what it is. Yes register your displeasure as customer feedback can sometimes change business behaviours, but acting entitled will not get anyone very far.
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The new apps don’t have the one-time unlock fee, but I am sure plenty of people got burned by unlocking the legacy app and having the new app forced on them unexpectedly.
All of which is also done if you use Plex locally inside your house too. The exact same mechanisms used to allow a client to connect world-wide is used locally, but with your server’s local IP instead of the house’s external IP. The process is identical otherwise.
- Plex sends your client the local IP of your server, so you can connect to it.
- Plex sets up an SSL certificate that your server responds to, and your client uses this to connect securely to the server.
- If authentication is set to “required”, then you need to authenticate to Plex to locate your own local server as well. (which you have to do to use Managed Users)
That is what I said, is that in using Plex externally, nothing different is used in Plex’s own infrastructure. If we all decided to watch locally and never go outside the house, Plex’s operating costs would remain identical (not counting the relay, which they restrict the value of and are have never claimed to charge for).
So plex is gifting you a free service when you are at home. Nice of them, ha?
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Sounds like a certain streaming service that everyone knows - hint, the name begins with N 
Well …that was an interesting catch up…
plex pass was utterly useless for myself doing all in-home streaming, not to mention issues with their client apps. the audio syncing issues on the latest apple tv 4k were laughable.
i switched to channels DVR about 2 years ago. plex can kick rocks. their DVR/live tv was total garbage.
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I have a few users connecting to my Plex server, I’ll just move them to Emby, until they do the same thing as Plex is.
You will need to do better pricing than that since the Plex Pass user has the time, content, server, internet and power to run it, I understand where Plex is coming from though it’s not something I’m going to lose sleep over!!
Yes Live TV on iPhone and/or iPad is totally broken
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Change sucks, especially when something that was free, isn’t free anymore, no one can argue that point.
My view is Plex had enough limitations in the free service to move most folks into a Plex Pass years ago (hardware transcode, download Live TV / DVR, skip intros & credits etc, for me the reason for Plex Pass was downloads…and boy has that been a journey over the years).
Each of your users could choose to purchase a Remote Watch Pass (US $1.99 a month / $19.99 a year) and continue without having to learn a new setup or have issues. For me and some of my family members, this would be worth the $19.99 a year
However it is great that in Emby and JellyFin, other truely open source free alternatives exist, and if they suit your requirements and what value you place with time v feature set v user experience, then fantastic.
My equation on these points is warped, because I have the Lifetime Plex Pass, so I really can’t offer any guidance that matters. However I do have Emby and JellyFin running, because I do like to remain aware of different solutions. With the 2025.18 mobile client releases, Plex offers a more stable and usable solution for me, excluding Live TV / DVR that is a steaming pile of right now.
I’ll now loop back to the topic of hardware decode, even with a Remote Watch Pass, your server will still transcode in software only (I think), this is a big topic…Plex should remote this limitation, basically where people are licensing to Stream, this should enable hardware transcode.
Will the new costs allow the remote users to skip Intro’s and Credits?
That still requires a Plex Pass for the playback user.
But what new costs are you talking about? From your profile you have a Plex Pass.
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What would be acceptable pricing for you?
Wow dude, behave!
I use Channels DVR as well (although mainly for Live TV/DVR). That being said, if they could just work on improving their metadata/UI for movies and TV shows they could really pickup some users.
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Bingo
Now they wanna put a subscription between me and media they didn’t pay for on hardware they didn’t pay for or maintain. Change is bound to happen. They finally sold out and became part of the system. There is a mass exodus coming or maybe it already happened. Whoever owns and runs Plex is a shill and a sellout. Corporate boot licking lackey.
So you want to use their software for free forever ….. mmmmm. OK.
They are company that wants to make money and a profit.
As for a mass exodus ….LOL
Basic functions, yes. Suckle it up bud. To paygate remote access is diabolical. I’ve already setup Jellyfin.
