When you’re looking for new release, high quality movies on Plex, we offer a wide library of titles available to rent.
Tip!: Renting movies (and playing them) in Plex is currently available only to users located in the United States. We plan to expand country availability in the future.
Related Page: Renting Movies on Plex
General Questions
Which apps support renting and playing rentals?
You can find detailed information about supported apps and platforms in our main Rentals article.
Related Page: Renting Movies on Plex
How much does a rental cost?
Rentals are typically priced from $3.99 USD and up. Generally speaking, the more recent the movie, the higher the rental price, though that can vary depending on the particular movie.
I live in [country]. Why don’t I see any rental titles available?
The service will initially roll out in the United States only. We’ll be working to expand country availability in the future.
Can I buy movies or only rent?
Plex is only offering movies for rent at this time.
Is it possible to download a movie I rent?
Sorry, rentals cannot be downloaded. You can stream the rental with almost any of our Plex apps, though.
Does having a Plex Pass give access to free or discounted rentals?
Plex Pass subscribers will not see any additional benefits as it relates to movie rentals at this time.
I can’t find [popular new title], what’s going on?
Negotiating distribution rights with movie studios can be a lengthy process. It’s likely that the title in question is associated with a studio that has not yet completed this process or else the title is still being processed. Stay tuned! (You can always add the movie to your Watchlist for easy access later.)
How can I view my rental history?
You can view past rental transactions on your Account Payments page.
Related Page: Account Payments
Who can I contact about a billing question?
For billing issues or questions, feel free to contact our Billing team with details.
Playback
Do rentals have ads/commercials?
Definitely not. While our free streaming is ad-supported, purchased rentals do not have any ads or commercials.
Where can I find the movie after I rent it?
Rented movies will automatically appear in Continue Watching on your home screen. They can also be found in the My Rentals row of the Rentals section of Movies & Shows.
How long do I have to watch a rental?
As soon as you complete the rental purchase of a movie:
- You have 30 days to start playback.
- Once you begin watching, you can play it as many times as you want within 48 hours.
After that time is up, the movie will no longer be available. If you just can’t get enough of the movie, you can always rent it again, of course.
What playback quality can I expect from a Plex movie rental?
Nearly all movie rentals on Plex will be available in 1080p HD resolution. We provide 5.1 surround sound for movie rentals whenever that is available from the source.
If your streaming network connection isn’t fast (or stable) enough, then it’s possible you could receive a lower resolution stream for playback until your internet speed picks back up. If you’re playing back on a device or setup that does not fully support HDCP, then you might receive a SD resolution stream. (See below for more details.) In such cases, you can try playing back on a different device/setup, such as a streaming device connected to your television (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, etc.).
How many streams can I have for a single rental?
You can only have a single stream of any particular rental playing at any particular time. If you’re already streaming the rental on one device and you start playback on a new Plex app, then playback in the original app will automatically end (with a message to the user).
Can Managed Users watch rentals?
Currently only the admin account of a Plex Home can purchase or watch/play rental titles.
We do plan to investigate the feasibility of expanding those capabilities to other members of a Plex Home, with additional (optional) protections in place. We do not have specific details to share as to when that expanded functionality might be available, sorry.
Troubleshooting
How do I know how much time I have remaining in my rental?
When viewing the details page of a movie you have rented, the remaining time will be clearly displayed in a badge.
In the above screenshot, the user has 12 hours remaining to watch the movie Barbie that was rented.
Why am I getting low/SD resolution playback? (Is DRM or HDCP compatibility required?)
Movie rentals on Plex are protected with DRM (Digital Rights Management). Playback of rental content does require devices able to handle the DRM appropriately. The “Supported Apps” list in our Renting Movies on Plex article will meet those requirements. That said, there are still some important details.
In addition to DRM, rental playback also requires your entire playback setup (e.g. streaming device, HDMI cable, receiver, television, monitor, graphics card, etc.) to support HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection). When one or more of the components in your playback setup is not fully HDCP compliant, you will instead receive a low/SD resolution video (or, in some rather rare scenarios, a black screen) during playback. The most common reasons for this:
- You’re watching in a browser. You can expect that playback in a browser will typically be SD resolution, except for Safari on macOS, specifically.
- You have a display device (e.g. an external monitor, projector, AV receiver) that does not support HDCP.
- You have old or inexpensive HDMI cables that are not compatible with, or properly passing, HDCP.
- You’re experiencing a connectivity issue that can sometimes be resolved by unplugging the HDMI cable at both ends and reconnecting.
Particularly in cases where you run into issues when trying to play a rental in your web browser or mobile device, your first thing to try should be attempting to play the rental back on a different (non-browser) Plex app. For instance, a Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, or smart TV is much more likely to have a compatible DRM & HDCP setup.
Related Page: DRM & HDCP Info (from Criterion Channel)