Alternatives to Netflix

2 self-hosted alternatives — 2 easy

Why people look for alternatives

  • Password sharing crackdown
  • Frequent price increases
  • Content library shrinking due to licensing
  • Ad-supported tier introduced
AppDifficultyMin RAMDockerMobileActive
Jellyfin

Free and open-source media system for streaming movies, TV, music, and more.

easy2 GB iOS & AndroidYes
Plex

Polished media server with wide device support and optional cloud features.

easy2 GB iOS & AndroidYes
Jellyfin

Free and open-source media system for streaming movies, TV, music, and more.

Pros

  • + Completely free and open source
  • + No tracking or paid tiers
  • + Good client app ecosystem
  • + Hardware transcoding support

Cons

  • - Fewer clients than Plex
  • - Metadata fetching can be inconsistent
  • - UI less polished than Plex
Plex

Polished media server with wide device support and optional cloud features.

Pros

  • + Best-in-class client apps
  • + Wide device support
  • + Polished UI
  • + Hardware transcoding

Cons

  • - Not fully open source
  • - Plex Pass required for some features
  • - Phone-home requirement
  • - Ad-supported free tier pushed