Plex is raising its prices and making a great key feature no longer free – here’s why some subscribers are signing up to the Lifetime Pass before the rise
(Image credit: Plex)
- Plex is drastically increasing its monthly, annual and lifetime prices
- It’s also going to start charging for its remote playback feature
- The move comes amid rising streaming prices across the board
If you use Plex to manage your home media library, get ready for some disappointing news: not only are all of its prices about to rise significantly, but the platform’s developer has also announced that you will no longer be able to remotely stream your media for free.
The changes were revealed in a blog post on the Plex website on March 19. There, Plex stated that the monthly price for Plex Pass will soon increase from $4.99 to $6.99, while the annual price will rise from $39.99 to $69.99. The most eye-watering step up was reserved for the Plex Lifetime Pass, which will more than double from $119.99 to $249.99.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Prices before the increase |
Prices as of April 29, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
|
Monthly |
$4.99 |
$6.99 |
|
Annual |
$39.99 |
$69.99 |
|
Lifetime |
$119.99 |
$249.99 |
The updated prices apply to both new and existing subscriptions, with the exception of the Plex Lifetime Pass – if you purchase that before the price rises are implemented on April 29, 2025, you’ll get to stay on the old $119.99 rate.
The incoming price hike has a lot of subscribers contemplating signing up to the Lifetime Pass, going by reactions on Reddit, with some users expressing signs of relief that they’ve already signed up for the lifetime subscription, while other say it’s time to finally sign up before it doubles in price.
Plex said that these increases will be implemented in order to “keep up with rising costs” and will allow the platform to “keep investing dedicated resources in developing new features, while supporting and growing your favorites”.
Drastic rises
Price rises weren’t the only unpleasant change announced in Plex’s blog post, as the platform also explained that changes were being made to remote media streaming.
Right now, you can stream your own media for free when you and your server are on separate networks. From April 29, though, you’ll need a paid subscription to either Plex Pass or to Plex’s new Remote Watch Pass. However, you will still be able to stream content on your local network for free.
The newly introduced Remote Watch Pass costs $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year and allows you to remotely stream content from any server that you have access to, and neither you nor the server owner needs to have a Plex Pass subscription for this to work.
The price rises mean that Plex has dropped its one-time mobile activation fee. Previously, paying this removed the one-minute playback limit on streaming to iOS or Android from a remote server.
With streaming prices rising across the board, including from companies like Netflix, it’s probably unsurprising that Plex has opted to charge its users more – even if it is the first price hike in a decade. Still, it’s never a welcome change when increasing costs are passed on to the consumer, especially when the increases are so drastic.
