Plex service.
Plex service.
Every month that goes by, I feel better about my lifetime purchase of the home-server media streaming service Plex. Now, it's about to double its prices. If you don't want to be caught out paying extra every month or facing a $250 charge for a lifetime plan, grab one now while you can. The price is still $120 for full-use forever until the end of April.
Plex is a project that has just grown and grown over its lifetime. What started as a macOS port of the software that would one day become rival Kodi has turned into a streaming service with its own ad-supported TV channel, movie and TV rental service, and ultimately one of the best ways to organize your own media for streaming between your devices. I've used Plex for years and have the lifetime plan, so I can access all my (legally) downloaded content from any device I own, anywhere in the world. It's my own personal streaming service.
But Plex is about to get a lot more expensive. When I bought the lifetime plan a few years ago for $120, it felt like a big ask considering it was just $5 a month. But that monthly fee is about to jump to $7, with the lifetime plan rising to $250.
"We are all in on the continued success of Plex Pass and personal media," Plex said in a statement. "This price increase will ensure that we can keep investing dedicated resources in developing new features, while supporting and growing your favorites."
Plex screenshot
Credit: Plex/PCMag
In a bigger change, perhaps, Plex is also removing the ability to stream from free servers remotely, unless someone in the chain has a Plex Pass subscription or lifetime pass. If you've been used to streaming from your friends' servers, you'll need to pay $2 a month (or $20 a year) for a Remote Watch Pass to continue that privilege. Alternatively, if they have a Plex Pass subscription or a lifetime plan, then anyone can stream from them for free, so perhaps you could club together for it?
For Plex Pass subscribers, some new changes and improvements are coming with all of this pricing shakeup. Plex will soon integrate Common Sense Media with its service, making it easier to see what kind of content your kids are consuming on the platform. Plex is also introducing a new server management app to help control who can access what content on your media server.
If you're at all confused about Plex's update, check out the extended blog post for a robust FAQ.