Every homelab eventually asks this question. You get a media library going, you want to actually watch it on a TV that isn’t hooked to a laptop, and you have to pick a server. We have opinions.
The short version
Plex is polished and easy and increasingly expensive. Jellyfin is free, open source, and asks a little more of you up front. James already made the jump to Jellyfin. Kyle is still running Plex, migration pending, mostly because “migration pending” is a phrase every homelabber says about at least one thing at all times.
Where Plex wins
Client apps. Full stop. Plex on a Roku, a smart TV, an Xbox, whatever, just works, and it looks good doing it. Remote access is close to zero-configuration since Plex handles the relay for you. If you are setting this up for family members who do not want to hear the word “reverse proxy,” Plex removes friction Jellyfin still makes you deal with yourself.
Where Jellyfin wins
Everything is free. Hardware transcoding, remote streaming, all of it, no account required, no phone-home authentication. Plex has been raising prices and putting features behind paywalls, and their Lifetime Pass is set to nearly triple this year. That is the kind of pricing move that makes self-hosters nervous, and it is exactly the reason we started paying attention to Jellyfin in the first place.
Jellyfin also just works when your internet does not. No cloud dependency, no “please check your connection to Plex” screen. It is your server, your data, your rules, which is the whole point of running a homelab to begin with.
The catch
Remote access on Jellyfin is a project, not a checkbox. You are looking at a reverse proxy with real HTTPS, or a VPN mesh like Tailscale, or WireGuard if you want to do it the hard way. Some TV apps still have rough edges compared to Plex’s client lineup. If you want it to just work for your parents from across the country, budget an evening to set it up properly and test it before you promise anyone anything.
Our actual take
If you already own the hardware and do not mind a setup weekend, Jellyfin is the better long term bet. You are not renting access to your own media library from a company that can change the terms whenever it wants. If you want something you can hand to a technically uninterested family member with zero explanation, Plex still has the edge, subscription creep and all.
We are living proof both opinions can be right at once. One of us already switched. The other is still on Plex, waiting for a free weekend that keeps not showing up. When that migration finally happens, we will write it up here, mistakes included.
Part of a bigger project
This is one piece of our Home Media Server project. Full build log and specs are over there. Got a Jellyfin or Plex setup of your own, or a fight to pick with our take? The Bench is where we argue about this stuff.