The personal media side of Plex works by connecting your media, the Plex Media Server, and the various apps for all your devices—browsers, mobile devices, game consoles, streaming devices, home theater PCs—but, what parts are free to use and what parts are paid for?

The basic functionality of Plex is completely free, which includes local playback of personal content from your Plex Media Server, as well as our ad-supported on demand and Live TV (from Plex).

The “Free to Use” Parts

There are some details to get into, but the summary of “free” is simple:

• The video/music/photo media you own is yours. Of course, we don’t charge you in any way for that.
• The Plex Media Server is free to use.
• Our on-demand movies and TV shows streaming service is free to all users and ad-supported.
• Free TV streaming is available from our ad-supported Live TV on Plex service
• Connect a compatible tuner and antenna to your server to let you watch over-the-air broadcasts available at your location live. (Recording of broadcasts requires a Plex Pass subscription.)
• Video (movies & TV) streaming of personal content on the same local network as the Plex Media Server
• Basic streaming (both local and remote) of personal music is available using our Plexamp music app.
• Basic viewing of photo libraries is available using our Plex Photos app.

Related Page: Plex Downloads
Related Page: Plex Media Server

The “Paid For” Parts

Remote Watch Pass Subscription

Our optional Remote Watch Pass subscription allows the account owner to stream personal content remotely from any Plex Media Server to which they have access. “Remote” in this context means not being on the same local network as the Plex Media Server.

The Remote Watch Pass subscription only enables remote streaming of personal content and does not provide access to any other premium features. For those, a Plex Pass subscription is required.

Plex Pass Subscription

The Plex Pass subscription provides access to numerous premium features and benefitsincludes free activation/unlocking of our mobile apps as well as other features and benefits. Some of the notable ones include:

• You can access our Plex Dash app (part of Plex Labs) to manage your Plex Media Server on a mobile device.
• Stream remotely from any Plex Media Server.
• Allow any user accessing a Plex Media Server you run to stream remotely from that server.
• Skip Credits in your personal library.
• Skip intros in TV episodes in your personal library.
• Hardware-accelerated streaming/transcoding.
• DVR Recording: Record over-the-air broadcasts available in your area, using a compatible tuner and digital antenna.
• Stream trailers and extras (interviews, behind the scenes, etc.) for content in your movie or TV show libraries.
• Add lyrics from LyricFind to your music libraries to follow along whenever you want.
• Invite full Plex accounts (not just managed users) of family members to be a part of your Plex Home, allowing easy switching between accounts, and restrict what content you share from your server.
• Enjoy premium music features in Plexamp, like Sonic Analysis, Sonic Sage, Guest DJ, Track & Album Radio, Artist & Album Mix Builders, and more.
• Make use of HDR to SDR tone mapping when transcoding, to help preserve colors for playback.
• Get early preview access to new apps and features.
• And even more!

Related Page: Plex Pass Subscriptions

Renting or Purchasing Movies on Plex

For users in select countries, Plex offers the ability to rent and/or purchase movies. These are ad-free and include not only classics, but also new movies.

Related Page: Renting or Purchasing Movies on Plex
Related Page: FAQ - Movie Rentals and Purchases on Plex