Compare

Side by side. No bias, no affiliate links. Just facts.

Plex

Emby

Jellyfin

Cost

Base price

Free (limited)

Free forever

Premium tier

Plex Pass ($120 lifetime)

Emby Premiere ($119 lifetime)

No premium tier

Hardware transcoding

Plex Pass required

Premiere required

Free

Intro skip

Plex Pass required

Premiere required

Free (plugin)

Offline sync

Plex Pass required

Premiere required

Free

Privacy & Setup

Open source

Cloud account required

Works offline (no internet)

With config

Telemetry / phone home

Minimal

Docker support

NAS support

Excellent

Good

Good (Docker)

Playback

Client app polish

Excellent

Good

Improving

4K HDR direct play

Dolby Vision

Good

Improving

HDR tone mapping

Plex Pass

Premiere

Free

Live TV & DVR

Music (dedicated player)

Plexamp (excellent)

Built-in

Finamp (community)

Smart TV apps

Many

Samsung + LG

Limited

Management

Parental controls

Good

Excellent

Basic

User management

Managed + home users

Full user system

Plugin ecosystem

Deprecated

Active

Very active

Remote access ease

Easiest (cloud relay)

Moderate

Manual setup

NFO file support

New (2026)

Custom CSS themes

Plex

Best for ease of use and polish. The "it just works" option. Pay for Plex Pass to unlock the good stuff.

Emby

Best for parental controls and customisation. A solid middle ground. Great if you want control without the DIY ethos.

Jellyfin

Best for privacy and cost. Everything is free, nothing phones home. You trade some polish for full independence.