Open Source Alternatives to Plex Media Server

A media server application that allows users to organize and stream a personal collection of movies, shows, and music from a central location to various devices. The software is designed for individuals who want to manage their own entertainment experience and stream media across a home network. It supports remote streaming, hardware transcoding, and media library sharing with friends and family. The system is deployed as a server application that connects to the Plex app on client devices. Users can start with a free version for local network streaming or upgrade to paid tiers for expanded capabilities. These paid options include the Remote Watch Pass for cost-effective remote access and the Plex Pass for advanced server management features such as skipping introductions and credits. The product functions as a personal hub for digital media consumption.

Whether you want to cut software costs or escape vendor lock-in, these open source alternatives to Plex Media Server give you an option you fully own. You can self-host them, so your data stays on infrastructure you control. This page lists 1 open source alternative to Plex Media Server. The most popular is Gerbera. It uses the GPL-2.0 license and ships an official Docker image.