For me it was one of the best software purchase decisions I have ever made. If you are serious about building a digital media library and use Plex every day, there is no reason to hold back on signing up to Plex Pass. I decided to write this post after reading many remarks on Plex forums and also on the apps’ reviews of how some users hesitate or even decide not to get Plex Pass for numerous reasons, which I respect as every person has their own preference.
However if you are still contemplating and need justification in making the decision, I hope this post could help you settle with the dilemma. Note that I am not endorsed by Plex whatsoever and the content is purely my own point of view.
1. Supporting the developers
As a free application, Plex is already amazing. It is a result of countless hours of development and concept designs. These all take dedication and commitment and require financial support to keep the great job going. By subscribing, you are ensuring that the application will be continuously developed with all new features and improvements over the years.
2. Mobile Sync is awesome
Not everyone uses super high-speed Internet connection on their home that allows them to stream the content from Plex Media Server flawlessly anytime and anywhere. This is where Mobile Sync, a Plex Pass-only feature comes in handy as you can download your favorite movies or TV shows to your portable devices for watching them offline. Even if you have a very good broadband plan at home, you probably still cannot stream your movies when you are on a plane or travelling abroad.
3. It is a high quality software with fair pricing
Plex Pass starts at $5/month which seems high for something that you believe you can use without the added features. But even if there are 1 or 2 Plex Pass features that you think will be good to have, then it is still worth it. Why? Because you are getting a quality app. Consider how much time you’ll save over time just because you have those features built-in on your media ecosystem, instead of trying to find workarounds that may or may not work. If you go with the Lifetime subscription, in my calculation, after 5 years you’d be only spending $0.08 a day which is practically nothing.
4. It costs only a fraction of your media hardware setup
Just consider it. You probably invested $500+ for a good media server (ie. Mac mini or good NAS), a few hundred bucks more on the hard drives, then you have a few tablets and media players (Apple TV, game console, streaming devices, smart TV, etc) which could easily total in more than $1,000. Not to mention you need to replace or upgrade these components every few years. When you compare that to $150 for a lifetime of subscription, you will only spend less than 10% on the software that can make bring your entertainment experience to a higher level.
5. Plex is actively developed
Nothing bums customers out for paying a premium only to get occasional updates. This has not been the case for me, at least during 1.5 years after signing up to my Plex Pass Lifetime subscription. I constantly receiving news of new worthy features which are available for Plex Pass subscribers at first. It’s a geek’s dream. I never feel like I paid for an application which had been done before signing up, instead it was for new ones in the future.
There you go. That would be my top 5 reasons for subscribing to Plex Pass. Please feel free to share your comments below.
About Plex
Plex gives you instant access to your media collections—your home videos, photos, music, TV shows, and movies—so you can quickly find and stream what you want to any device, any time.
Platforms include Macs, PCs, smartphones, tablets, Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles, Smart TVs, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Nvidia Shield, and more. Whether it’s your movie and TV collection or your music library, Plex makes your media look beautiful by automatically adding movie posters, plot summaries, cover art, and descriptions. Plex also allows you to share it all with your friends and family.
Updated Plex Pass features & information: Plex Pass Features: Worth It?, Discount Guide
It is a nice piece of software and I did fund it by buying my early plex apps on iOS and Android on which I could stream media from my own server. My funding is now just worthless and there is no honoring of my early commitment at all. It’s just gone. ‘You can now play all your media on your iPad for free”. Yeah great. Not great. I feel pretty mislead.
Yeah, I remember when they asked users to buy the app per platform basis. I think I also bought it for my iPhone/iPad back then. That was before they have a more solid pricing model. You are right, it was not fair for the customers. However shifting a revenue model for software products happen more often than we probably realize. 1Password now also offers a monthly-based plan instead of per-app purchase.
That was true of the old prices. At $150 now it’s just way too expensive for what’s offered.
I agree that $150 makes it harder to swallow. Especially since there is no real guarantee with term of “lifetime” in the software cycle. However Plex is aimed for a niche market, so there is a limit in number of customers it can target to while the development time and effort are pretty much the same. I spent $300 to purchase Logitech Harmony remote for the sake of convenience in enjoying my digital media library. When I see from that point of view, it is not as big of investment.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
Couldn’t agree more! I always tell people it’s the best product satisfaction I’ve ever had. At no point have I ever doubted or regretted my subscription. My personal media library has allowed me to store 800+ DVDs and BluRays in the basement, reducing clutter to a single RAID-protected NAS. Not only that, I have family photos and home movies and music on there with restricted accounts for my daughter, and the whole thing works flawlessly with my 4th gen Apple TV, iPhone and iPad. Alex Sync has a few issues but I know it’s always under development and improvement, thanks to subscribers like myself.
Hey Mundstrom – You are using Plex even more extensively than I am! I haven’t used Plex’s photos and music channels that much. Already happy that it allows me to connect to my iTunes library and Spotify account.