Plex says that it has considered getting rid of Lifetime Passes.
Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more As of July 1, at 12:01 am UTC—or June 30 at 8:01 pm ET—people seeking access to Plex’s media server features through a one-time purchase will have to pay $750. That’s three times the current price of $250.
The new price will not affect current Lifetime Plex Pass holders.
A Lifetime Plex Pass allows you to stream from your own Plex Media Server to a device connected to your own network, to stream from the server remotely, and to allow others to stream remotely from your server.
When first launched in 2012, a Lifetime Plex Pass was $75. In 2014, Plex increased the price to $150 because “at 2.5x the price of a yearly, it was priced in an unsustainable way for us,” Plex said in a blog post at the time. Eventually, lifetime passes were available for $120 for years until March 2025, when the price skyrocketed to $250 . That brings us to today’s announcement.
In an email and blog post to customers today, Plex said that it sold lifetime passes early in its existence “because we knew many of our customers would rather pay a higher, one-time fee for software that they can depend on every day.” However, as evidenced by several price hikes, Plex has struggled to reconcile lifetime passes with its own financial goals. The company’s message says: We’ve considered eliminating the Lifetime Plex Pass in the past, given that recurring subscriptions help us sustain long-term development, but we know it’s still a valuable option for many in our community. So instead of retiring it, we’re keeping it available at a price that reflects the real, ongoing value of the software we’re committed to building and maintaining for years to come.
The 200 percent price hike and Plex’s admission that it has mulled killing Lifetime Passes illustrate Plex’s shifting priorities as it seeks profitability . Notably, Plex didn’t announce any pricing hikes for its monthly or annual subscription tiers.
In its blog, Plex offered further reasoning for the upcoming price hike: Over the years, as our software and product has evolved, the breadth of features and benefits included with your Plex Pass has expanded. This increase ensures we can continue to invest resources into building and maintaining the Plex personal media software, while continuing to offer a Lifetime option.
As noted in the announcement, Plex would rather people pay monthly or annually for its media server features than a one-time fee. With annual subscriptions currently $70, it would take 11 years for a $750 lifetime subscription to be a better value.
Plex’s price hike is an extreme example of streaming service providers continuously increasing prices amid struggles to reach and maintain profitability while keeping prices stable and dealing with ongoing costs, like licensing fees for rental movies and app updates.
Plex claims to be working on numerous new features for its platform, including: adding all server and library management features currently available on app.plex.tv to Plex’s mobile and, where applicable, TV apps; “boosting dialogue and normalizing loudness,” per today’s announcement; transcoding improvements; IPv6 support; and the abilities to group downloads by show, automatically download new episodes, and make and edit playlists in mobile apps. New features that Plex has added recently include the ability to create custom metadata agents and an open API for server integrations.
Beyond new features, Plex has previously cited rising costs for the hike, including supporting various types of devices and codecs .
Plex moving beyond media serving Plex’s various forays into areas outside of its original media server business also contribute to its rising costs. In recent years, Plex has expanded from a media server company to a streaming service provider that has hundreds of free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels, rents out movies , and dabbles in social features . It also made a failed venture into gaming .
Legacy customers, however, have grown wary of Plex’s expanding interests and their potential impact on Plex’s media server users. While adding streaming and social features, Plex killed free remote streaming access and its Watch Together feature and issued a controversial app redesign . Plex also has reason to put more focus on its streaming business since more people have been using Plex’s online streaming service than its media server capabilities since 2022, Scott Hancock, Plex’s then-VP of marketing, said in 2023.
The good news is that Plex has given months of warning before jacking up Lifetime Plex Pass prices. But as Plex seeks profitability, it will continue evolving from the pure-play, affordable media server company that it originally was and, in turn, drum up interest for rival platforms, like Jellyfin , Emby , and Kodi .
Scharon Harding Senior Technology Reporter Scharon Harding Senior Technology Reporter Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She's been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.
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