Choosing the Best Media Server: Jellyfin, Plex, or Emby?

Dive into the ultimate showdown comparison between the titans of media servers: Jellyfin, Plex, and Emby. From user interface and ease of setup to customization options, security, and pricing - we've got you covered. This comprehensive comparison breaks down everything you need to know for the best media server solution.
Summary Table of Comparisons: See end of video.
👍 Like, Share, and Subscribe for more tech reviews and comparisons. Drop your questions or experiences with Jellyfin, Plex, and Emby in the comments below - let's discuss!
🔗 Links and Resources:
Jellyfin: jellyfin.org/
Plex: www.plex.tv/
Emby: www.emby.media/
🔔 Subscribe for more tech tips and tutorials: ‪@IBRACORP‬
🚀 Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:37 Foundation and Initial Release
1:21 Mobile Apps and Web Interface
1:50 Media Playback, Live TV & DVR
2:22 Hardware Transcoding and Offline Syncing
2:49 Customization and Community Support
3:14 Security
3:51 Pricing
4:15 User Experience and Accessibility
4:44 Extensibility and Plugin Ecosystem
5:19 Media Management and Advanced Features
5:55 Remote Access and Sharing
6:26 Future Prospects and Community Engagement
7:13 Summary
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#plex #emby #jellyfin #ibracorp #unraid #docker #mediaserver #selfhosted

[@IBRACORP]

🌟 Which one is your top pick, or do you have questions or insights to share? Drop your thoughts and experiences below! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more tech deep dives. 👇

[@try-that]

Jellyfin for me, true open source, no tracking, the app works on my firestick and I use kodi on a rasPi. With the rest of the *arr containers it all chugs along nicely.

[@hawks5196]

I used to be a big Plex fan, still have my lifetime license from many years back but have decided to move to Jellyfin. It’s open source, built by the community, for the community and stands for all things FOSS. There are some areas where it lacks behind but am ultimately very impressed with the project and look forward to all the future development

[@IBRACORP]

Thanks Hawksy!

[@chipped]

I tried to move to them but their apps are rarely updated and years behind Plex in polish. Also no apps on a lot of brand name TV’s. Plex is just everywhere.

[@dungdanghuu1037]

@@chipped yes and emby have on most Tv, too.

[@mindfreak2121]

I use Plex to host my movies and music online. I also use it for live over the air tv with a Hauppauge usb turner. I use Plex also so that I can watch my My movies and listen to my music away from home. Also able to watch my over-the-air live TV away from home. I don't like having to pay $5 per month with Plex. Can I do all of that with Jellyfin without having to pay for a monthly subscription?

[@Gadottinho]

unfortunately it's terrible for anime from my experience, plex is also quite bad, but jellyfin manages to be far worse, it gets most of the anime either wrong or not at all

[@stiibunyozomita3536]

Some more backstory about Plex, which was actually a fork of XBMC which is now known as Kodi

[@IBRACORP]

Cool to know about Plex's roots in XBMC and its current identity as Kodi. Thanks for sharing!

[@russelldye5506]

true, i believe the others our pass developers that move on or sort of spine off . witch is good

[@AdamEisan]

Thanks for this comment. I started down the rabbit hole with XBMC on a Gen 1 AppleTV. That was some time ago.

[@alexsinbb]

I think a comment on player availability on various televisions and streaming sticks would’ve been interesting too

[@IBRACORP]

Fair point because it does make a big difference, thanks

[@caedis_]

Used Plex for awhile, but I went Jellyfin a couple years ago to have fully local auth control and not having to pay for hardware transcoding and intro skipping (plugin)

[@IBRACORP]

Great points, they are big reasons to switch

[@surgical_17]

Some feedback: I think one point where this video is missing the mark after the info dump, Is giving examples or situations where one would be a better choice than the other two. That with the info gives the user all the information and examples to make their own choice for what would work best for them.

[@IBRACORP]

Thanks for the feedback, noted!

[@TheJediBendu]

Good video, I've personally been using Plex and am enjoying it but I could see trying Jellyfin again down the road. Would love to see you do a video on setting up cross-seed in unraid

[@examen1996]

Jellyfin, it's free, it has the support of the community, I can use it with authentik and it sits happily in a lxc container , on my proxmox server , with hardware passtrough enabled. From family member to my own tv where it streams 4k. with dolby vision and dolby sound, all work flawless. My only issue is with the subtitles, sometimes it fails, but it always works after 2-3 attempts.

[@IBRACORP]

Great points, thanks for sharing.

[@JustFeral]

Subtitles usually take a moment to start showing for me as well, but they do load after a few seconds.

[@ibrudiiv]

I have a cheapo TCL Roku 4k hdr tv that runs great and 100% direct plays my media when I extract the subtitles out and have them only as an srt with only the video and audio source(s) present in the movie file container. I've been eyeballing the shield tv pro and other newer android boxes but honestly a few minutes processing a media file is fine for me :) And it can be automated

[@djlucasd]

Yeah I've tried Plex, then I tried Jellyfin for a few days, then moved to Emby. Night and day difference, even with having to pay for Emby. It's worth it.

[@InsaiyanTech]

I’m trying to add iptv to either jellyfin or plex but there’s not really much info on it I’m trying to make it my one stop shop all in one build

[@nickydeeney]

I don't know why but not many people seem to try Emby. I went from Plex to Jellyfin then finally settled with Emby, I was with both Plex and Jellyfin for a few years. Emby hands down is the best of the three. I recommend people to at least try Emby and see for themselves.

[@IBRACORP]

Maybe Emby needs a marketing makeover to get the attention it deserves! Time to give Emby a spotlight!

[@nickydeeney]

@@IBRACORP Definitely, more people need to know about Emby.

[@dontwastetime8830]

Yes, I use Emby too. It is the best. Jellyfin is a fork of Emby. It is open source but it is not polished like Emby. Emby has a better interface and better app clients on TVs and phones.

[@ZombieLincoln666]

Yeah Emby has much better client apps available compared to Jellyfin

[@73Bdiddy]

The only thing I hate about Emby is its call-home feature. If you are off the internet for a while - it does not run; both server and thick client. Other than that - it runs perfect.

[@a88pockets]

Its good to see new content. Where have you been?

[@IBRACORP]

Keeping up with life! Thank you for watching

[@Renegade605]

Plex adding in licensed content to stream from their servers leaves me with big concern that someday they'll take steps to prevent less legal content from being served by their software. The opt-out share my watch history 'feature' they launched a little while back really rubbed me the wrong way too. But it's taken me years to finally get my media stack tuned just right, so I haven't pulled the trigger on a migration yet. Someday though.

[@IBRACORP]

I feel you on that. Let's hold onto our media stacks for as long as we can!

[@Sebastian-xf8je]

Jellyfin was so buggy for me on Android TV and quite slow. Emby has been flawless

[@IBRACORP]

Jellyfin might need a tune-up, but it seems like Emby is cruising in the fast lane.

[@massgrave8x]

I have been using the Jellyfin client on Android TV (Nvidia Shield) for a long while now without any issues. What kind of bugs have you experienced?

[@azamizoldyck]

i had use jellyfinn and now emby. because delay audio and video when i watching movies in jellyfin

[@AkhiSyahmi_]

I tried Jellyfin and have a "source error" when trying to play some file. Not sure what seems to be the problem.

[@TrickyT]

that will be the encoding and file type. Use TDARR to format everything into mp4 and 256 encoded. This will fix all your problems :D

[@AndrewShaffer91]

I'm currently debating how long I want to keep using Plex. We have a lifetime pass - from years ago - and I don't mind paying for features; but when key features (downloading content to mobile devices, for instance) have remained broken for years now, development has appeared to focus on pushing their own Plex-hosted content instead. I've been dabbling with Jellyfin as an alternative, and I like what I've seen so far, but getting my family's watch history migrated over is the largest hurdle for them in making the switch.

[@IBRACORP]

It's always good to explore alternatives and find what works best for you. Your family's watch history is definitely a big factor in making the switch.

[@armykid0000]

omg you're right. Since it worked on my laptop I assumed it would've worked on on iphone/ipad, but it doesn't

[@MrZer000]

Im planning on purchasing the one device activation just for mobile streaming and downloading. Is it that bad?

[@armykid0000]

@@MrZer000 if I download something regularly it's inconsistent on mobile. I have to optimize the video first for it to download

[@AndrewShaffer91]

@@MrZer000 Mobile streaming tends to be fine in Plex. Downloading for offline viewing, however, tends to fail more often than not. I've had slightly better luck downloading when on the same network as the server, but even that's not super reliable.

[@ads1035]

Hey, thanks for making this. I had never heard of Jellyfin before, but I think I'll switch to it from Emby. I like free, open software quite a bit.

[@IBRACORP]

That's awesome to hear! Jellyfin is a great choice for free and open-source software.

[@MonkWithoutACause]

I use Plex heavily with a huge collection and 2 remote family homes as clients. I'll be able to switch to Jellyfin (which I want to do) when there's some near turnkey solution for remote family. I'm 65 and stuck with the "it just works" solution. Figuring out the DIY remote accessibility for jellyfin has seemed too steep a curve the first several times I've looked at it. If someone came up with a remote connection plug=in for jejllyfin I'd be all over it.

[@Solanum.95]

I changed to Jellyfin a few months ago from Plex, running it in a docker container and it was really simple to set it up and I’m really happy with Jellyfin so far! The biggest downside tho is that I primarily use Apple TV and the app (3rd party Swiftfin) is really bad. My main TV is an LG C1 so I can use the native app on the TV instead and it’s great, hope the will release a native app on Apple TV soon!

[@lebenitza5778]

Try Infuse from Firecore, I use it mainly as a replacement for the AppleTV Plex app, because it is sometimes stupid with some HDR formats and DoVi. It seems to support Jellyfin and Emby as well but haven't tried that yet.

[@zdub303]

Have you tried Infuse? I don't have an Apple TV but everyone always comments its the best player and worth the cost.

[@AwesomeOpenSource]

Hate to tell you this, but Swiftfin is their (Jellyfin's) official app for Apple TV. It has been a bit difficult, but it's getting better and better. Give it a bit of time.

[@thedinotamergaming]

Could you do a Caddy tutorial someday?

[@TrickyT]

Amazing vid

[@IBRACORP]

Glad you think so! Thanks for watching

[@mbe102]

I'll never go back to plex. They could pay ME and I still wouldn't do it. Jellyfin is a godsend.

[@armykid0000]

What issues did ya have with Plex?

[@phantomzwar6365]

i like both jellyfin and emby and well i ended up going with emby for my home server dont know why but i just enjoy embys server a lot plex i dont enjoy it seems too much like a streaming service imo if i had to choose itd be jellyfin or emby

[@JeffPomaybo]

Jellyfin has been pretty solid for me and about 10 users for about a year now. But locally I still just use Kodi (with no ADDONZ, btw) w local media.

[@IBRACORP]

Thanks for sharing. Jellyfin has come a long way

[@laurikvo]

Curious to know, do you prefer Kodi locally for some reason or is it an old habit dying hard 😄. Why I ask: I’ve yet to dabble with any of these but used to use XBMC and then Kodi years ago. It was really simple to setup and it had the basics done right. Now I’m in the process of turning old dvd’s and blurays into digital files and wondering what I should try. For now I think Jellyfin might be my first choice just because I like to prefer open source when possible.

[@adams.george]

Do you know any method to wirelessly transfer media files from PC to Kodi which is on an Android TV?

[@etow8034]

@@laurikvo Still using Kodi, never understood the appeal of apps like Plex, Jellyfin or Emby. So basically it is only useful for remote access to your source library from multiple devices which is pretty much like a Cloud storage on your own server ...pointless and unsafe in my opinion !

[@etow8034]

@@adams.george Your Android TV does not have a HDD or SDD, but you can do it with an Android media box connected to your TV.

[@inakidb]

for me. Emby hands down.

[@meccu19]

Will be nice to see how to configure emby or yellyfin secure remote access. Only this holds me with Plex

[@IBRACORP]

Breaking free from Plex's grip, let's dive into the world of Emby and Jellyfin. Secure remote access secrets coming your way soon!

[@leftywhat]

Could you please do a comparison of the UI between the three for 2024. Mainly the home screen and when you're in Movies and TV Shows. For some reason, Emby website lacks screenshots. I want to choose one, but this is coming from a long time Kodi user, as KODI imo has the best UI with Aeon MQ9 skin. But I do want to be able to continue videos from multiple devices, so Kodi may no longer suit me anyone with a new family / kids etc. Right now, without looking, I'm leaning towards Plex on a Synology NAS and be done with it, but I'll see how hard the other two are to setup I guess.

[@VannHerrenDesigns]

I like jellyfin, but I am having a difficult time finding a tutorial on how to setup remote access that doesn't require a significant amount of previously known networking knowledge....

[@AmeerWorld]

Thats why I switched to Plex. Its too difficult for me. Not worth my time. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@DanMan1990]

This may be a ME issue but the only problem I seem to have with Jellyfin is not being able to play on my mobile devices. All of the desktops and tvs work great.

[@ZombieLincoln666]

Try Emby

[@krisKrag]

simple, what is best 4 p04rnA?

[@ErikRedbeard]

The user account thing is not true for emby. You can perfectly make localized users if self hosted, no need to connect it to an emby account, nor does it even need a connection to the internet at all to function technically.

[@MylesTech]

i like Emby

[@onetrickekko]

I personally prefer using Jellyfin, but its remote access functionality could be improved. It offers two apps-one for direct play and one for transcoding-making it confusing for users to choose the appropriate one. (iOS)

[@IBRACORP]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Jellyfin! It's always helpful to hear different perspectives on the app.

[@Misterz3r0]

I use jellyfin. I am happy.

[@IBRACORP]

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Jellyfin!

[@hagner75]

Been using Plex for years, and my media setup is built around that. But I've tried Jellyfin as well, which just works, and gives me full control of everything, while Plex doesn't. atm. I'm using Plex, but I'm the only user either way, so it's not a problem for me in any way.

[@IBRACORP]

It's great to hear you've found a setup that works well for you, whether it's Plex or Jellyfin!

[@bjk8kds]

Now i using Emby for local access, and Plex for remote access, i never successfull setting the remote access from Jellyfin and Emby throught my modem router (Cellular/Mobile Network Operator, dont have ISP router), on the other hand Plex server very handy to connect remote access, at least Plex still free when using web interface.

[@VictoriaMan69]

I would like to try jellyfin or emby but they don't have apps available on samsung tvs

[@russelldye5506]

try vlc player not as pretty bt still can watch your shows lol

[@alexq83]

That's not completely true. There is an Emby app for Tizen but from what I know it's only available for certain product lines and only in the US

[@tomialahaivala8059]

you can actually sideload jellyfin to tizen samsung tv:s... try to google it. I have done it to two of my tv:s.

[@IBRACORP]

That's awesome! Thanks for the tip.

[@kenrock2]

​@@alexq83depends which year and model of Samsung tv. But plex definitely yes

[@kenrock2]

I used to be jellyfin but moved to plex due to software support to other devices like Samsung tv and has free movie and TV shows included. Setup is less hassle than jellyfin

[@stayupthetree]

2 things keep me on Plex 1) The UI of Emby/Jellyfin is just abysmal. 2) The Emby/Jellyfin elitists that pop up anytime someone prefers plex or complains about them. Plex has a lot of issues, a lot I haven't experienced personally over the years, but others experience them so they are valid. Havent liked the direction Plex has been going for some time. Ultimately as someone who has been in this space since XBMC on the OG Xbox nearly 20 years ago, Plex has been my easiest and prettiest experience. The others are great on the backend, need polish on the front end.

[@IBRACORP]

Good assessment mate thanks for sharing

[@AllPurposeBen]

I use plex and have been having a lot of issues lately with database corruption. It used to be super stable but less so last few years.

[@SentientNut]

There is a lot of information out there about resolving database corruption issues. SpaceInvador One has a video that is quite good. I've had to go through and rebuild it a few times before I got sick of it. I ended up starting it all over and haven't had to touch it in years. I think a bad time restarting or one specific media item caused the problem.

[@IBRACORP]

I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing database corruption issues with Plex. It can be frustrating when things that used to work well start acting up.

[@renegeeder]

I'd recommend trying both Jellyfin and Emby, in the end I settled on Emby, well worth the price and the devs are quite active on the forums if you run into any issues from what I've seen. Only real complaint about Emby I have at the moment is Emby Theater Desktop's window management, it doesn't support Windows Snap, which is kind of annoying with two or more monitors. But that should be getting an update soon.

[@thedinotamergaming]

Video suggestion: could you make an updated trash guides video with jellyfin settings either instead of Plex or together with Plex?

[@ankkitraj2625]

I was a plex pass subscriber but now have moved to Jellyfin which is not as good as plex in terms of features but playback doesn’t lack anything!!

[@drmetroyt]

I really miss , ibracorp , spaceinvaderone videos as i have watched and finished all 😢

[@IBRACORP]

We plan to keep giving you more!

[@ironwoodoverland]

@@IBRACORPdo a video on immich pls!!

[@TheTorsti]

I use both plex and jellyfin. primarily plex because I like the UI better than jellyfin. I don't have a lifetime with plex "yet".

[@Lunolux]

jellyfin for the web and kodi for the tv

[@RandomlyGoop]

Jellyfin is really Amazing, but as a power user having access to plex meta manager, tauttili and apps like them to control how my library looks and really good watch together features plex offers is holding me back from completely moving to Jellyfin.

[@IBRACORP]

Maybe we need to create a new platform called "JellyPlex" that combines the best of both worlds!

[@onestopviewfiles]

If jellyfin also supports books and comics, which none of the others don't. Plex still has not added m3u playlist import export.

[@IBRACORP]

Great points

[@cameronbelstead7310]

Holy shit man, the ChatGPT script...

[@akongas]

Jellyfin setup is a nightmare, still can’t get it working properly

[@StarkRG]

I don't like software that requires an external account to use which means Emby and Plex are non-starters for me.

[@KILO993]

The real question is; which one is best for "Linux ISOs" lol ;)

[@IBRACORP]

🤐

[@SkaterKonks]

The video could've been more relevant to what was being spoken. Was throwing me off a bit. Eg. Talking about jellyfin, but showing screen recording of emby.

[@IBRACORP]

Thanks for the feedback, we agree 👍

[@CozumelTy]

Plex, so fully featured for my family and friends. I like the idea of Jellyfin but its way behind and not as stable if you have a good amount of users connecting at once.

[@IBRACORP]

The family and friend tends to be the anchor for Plex quite often

[@FlightdeckJohnny]

The only reason to use plex is plex meta manager that gives you great overlays and collections. Other than that, plex seems to be out of money and there are no improvements except for streaming tv. The client is buggy and cannot handle all standards. As soon as metamanager is available for Emby or jellyfin I will leave plex. Right now infuse is a good alternative client for the plex client on atv. Unfortunately not available on android

[@IBRACORP]

Yo, I hear you loud and clear about Plex and its issues. Infuse seems to be your go-to for now, but let's hope Emby or Jellyfin step up their game for you!

[@RubiconSahara]

I have lifetime passes for emby and plex, i prefer emby, but run both. Plex has gotten too bloated IMO. I've played with jellyfin and have no issues with it.

[@IBRACORP]

Thanks for the feedback, Emby seems quite popular

[@knightone57]

Plex has screwed up the mete data for a couple of my movies over and over.

[@Jean0987654321]

Jellyfin for me. More lightweight, free GPU transcoding and intro skipping and without the bloat

[@IBRACORP]

Thank you for sharing your positive experience with Jellyfin and highlighting its benefits.

[@definitionofhappiness6134]

I went with emby. Because Emby doesnt read your library and their hardware transcoding is a bit better. I will try plex later on because plex got more addons like overseerr, plex meta manager etc..

[@IBRACORP]

Thank you for sharing your experience and insights! It's always helpful to hear from others in the community.

[@joshua4023]

Emby doesn’t call back home. For login. You can use the Emby connect to login in but you don’t have to use that. I wish people start telling the truth about Jellyfin. Great server but the client side is dog shit.

[@IBRACORP]

Great points!

[@nakorau]

emby has to call mother sometimes to check ya subscription status. that is all

[@ChristopherScanlan88]

I'm sticking with Plex for now because there are so many clients. Would like to move to jellyfin eventually.

[@user-if9nr2zj7v]

No pmm alternative and a shoddy ui make Jellyfin a dealbreaker for me

[@IBRACORP]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Jellyfin's user interface and features.

[@ZombieLincoln666]

Emby has much better client apps than Jellyfin.

[@Hecbertgg]

I'll stick to Plex because of it's user interface, i can't stand jellyfin ui/ux... we're in 2024

[@HiImKyle]

Emby > Plex > Jellyfin. I wish I could've kept using Plex but they put a server host ban up last year and I was included in that.. :(

[@IBRACORP]

Emby, Plex, Jellyfin - sounds like the tech version of a love triangle! Sorry Plex broke your heart with that ban.

[@SkippyTheLost]

I use Plex, but I’m not happy about it.

[@IBRACORP]

Hey, I get it. Sometimes Plex can be a pain. What's bugging you the most about it?

[@tomhueb793]

PLEX PLEX PLEX

[@IBRACORP]

Looks like someone's got Plex on the brain!

[@tablet8321]

Plex all the way!!!