Media server streaming software company Plex announced today that its lifetime Plex Pass subscription plan is soon getting a massive price increase from $250 to $750. The company says its doing this to better reflect the “real, ongoing value” of its software and to support its plans to maintain and expand in the “years to come.”
On May 19, Plex announced that it was increasing the price of a lifetime Plex Pass subscription. This is the plan that unlocks all the premium options for users, including the ability to have friends and family remotely stream your personal library of movies and shows from anywhere in the world for free without paying for a Plex Remote Pass. For much of Plex’s userbase with large media libraries that they want to be able to watch anywhere and share with others, Plex Pass is very necessary.
When Plex started offering the Plex Pass, it offered a $100 one-time-purchase that would provide the user with a lifetime subscription. Over the years, as it has become more expensive for Plex to support all of its features and as it continues to update its software, it has raised the lifetime price of Plex Pass to $250. Now, about a year later, Plex is raising the price of a Plex Pass lifetime sub again to an astonishing $750 starting starting on July 1.
Today we announced that the price of a Lifetime Plex Pass will increase on July 1, 2026. To learn more about this change, including what's on the Plex roadmap in the future, visit our blog post here: https://t.co/fOxFQ0l1yD
— Plex (@plex) May 19, 2026
“When Plex first started, we were movie and TV fans who wanted to make something great for people like us,” said the company in a blog post announcing the price increase. “We chose to offer a Lifetime subscription early on because we knew many of our customers would rather pay a higher one-time fee for software that they can depend on every day.”
According to Plex, it considered eliminating the option to buy a lifetime Plex Pass entirely as recurring subscription fees are more useful for sustaining “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,” said Plex.
Reactions to the news have been almost entirely negative, with many former users pointing to raising costs as the reason they ditched the streaming software for other options years ago. Others are begging the once simple, barebones, and easy-to-use media server software to return to its roots or risk losing its customers.
“Are you guys stupid? Raising prices, implementing stuff no one asked for. You went from a simple app that was easy to use, to a shit and bloated app, and now even more expensive. Please get to your senses and go back to the basics,” pleaded one user. Another simply posted: “Feels like the beginning of the end of Plex.”
If you already have a lifetime sub to Plex Pass, nothing will change for you. The company also confirmed that it’s not raising the price on its annual or monthly subscription options, either. This change will only affect the lifetime option and will only kick in starting on July 1 for new subscribers. So if you were even slightly interested in starting up a Plex server and hosting a ton of movies for your friends and family to enjoy (as well as for your own enjoyment), then you might want to lock in a $250 lifetime Plex Pass sub before July 1. Or you can always try something like JellyFin. Or just buy Blu-Rays and make your friends come over to watch.
