Jellyfin
this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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Technology
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almost a fucking grand for a media server that you host yourself, and only really rely on their login servers for. Can anyone else say "enshittification"?
They provide the apps, metadata servers, and relay service. It's a lifetime pass. IMO that's worth the price it used to be, $70 or whatever. The new price is just absurd, they want you to pay periodically for life because people spend more that way.
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Welp, looks like I'm never buying, and therefore using plex
I think software subscriptions are a scam, but I don’t mind buying a perpetual license that is only good up to a certain version with additional fees for newer versions. It’s also fair to charge a recurring fee for something that has recurring hosting costs like a VPN, cloud storage, etc.
If they weren’t such dipshits, the “lifetime pass” should have been a perpetual license you can keep using as long as you want, but charge an optional fee for newer versions if you want to upgrade and get more features. They should also have offered a hosted service to make your instance available to others and charge a monthly fee for that. I think people would’ve been fine with all that.
I've always thought the licensing for Jetbrains IDEs is a pretty fair way of licensing software. If you stop subscribing you still get access to the last version of the software you paid for but you don't get new versions anymore. And if you stay subscribed you get a loyalty discount after your first and second years. So it provides an incentive to stay subscribed long term but if you do leave you still get access perpetually to the last version you bought
I think thats really fair too. I might adopt that for my startup.
I use a package at work that lets you update within the major version. So you won't get the bells and whistles of the new one, but you'll get security updates and big fixes for 2 years or so. After that, you're using a mature and polished product that you can ride another 10 years if you want.
Well I don't like seeing well reasoned, thoughtful comments in my hate thread. We are supposed to be kicking them while they're down! Not pointing out how a small change would ameliorate the issue and fix everything!
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my lifetime pass for jellyfin cost me $0, pretty good value
Apparently they are going to DOUBLE that amount every year! Outrageous!
I didn't get into self-hosting until recently, and people recommended Jellyfin, so I don't even know what I'm missing with Plex, if anything. It feels like Jellyfin does everything I need.
You’re missing getting to pay for it. Imagine how good it would feel to see $750 less in your bank account.
I mean Plex definitely has a value add. Around here people will scoff but Plex is far easier to work with for non technical users.
If you shared your library externally Plex was definitely easier it's just that they have started to extract value from that which does suck.
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Couldn't pay me to use that software lol
Used Kodi and now using Jellyfin.
I saw this email and it just read as a desperate cash grab for a company that doesnt plan to be around in 3 more years. Pathetic.
I thought the last couple moves were the nail in the coffin, but this might be it 🤣
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And they'll likely "forget" you are lifetime as often with them as they did with us early adopters who got it for cheap.
There's a reason I use Jellyfin, now. Well, more than one.
Plex kept trying to charge me again, and every time I looked at it there was more clutter and spam being forced in front of my face by their "partners."
Kodi on device, great interface especially when you are using touch, if I need remote access I swap to Jellyfin. There's even plugins to sync between the two so your stats and history don;t get messed up by using both.
People still use plex?
Jellyfin has been very slow for me and buggy especially when it comes to UI and if you try anything fancy like the sync play stuff. I tried it again not long ago and it just pales in comparison. Don't get me wrong as a free offering it's fantastic but I paid for a lifetime sub for Plex years ago, this just works.
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I do. It works well enough and my grandmother doesn't have to configure Tailscale. Would I buy a lifetime pass today? Hell no. But I got in early, so why not?
Next step will be to turn every lifetime pass into a 20 year pass or smth.
Then I still have 10 years in mine, maybe Jellyfin can manage to catch up to Plex in that time
Yes millions
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Turns out, lifetime is difficult to budget for
It would be fine if Plex wasn't hooked on VC capital and needed to make the line go up constantly. Most self-hosters like me have zero interest in what they are funding with subscriptions.
Wow... Rough! I get they've "added value" over time, but they've also enshittified it too...
If only Jellyfin were simpler to setup for the masses...
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I did pay 120 or something 8 years ago, I didn’t mind the price at the time but this is not worth it for ppl who don’t don’t have it.