Why I switched from Plex to Jellyfin after 4 years - honest comparison

Описание и применение

Автор перешёл с Plex на Jellyfin из‑за новых платных функций и высокой нагрузки CPU, сохранив при этом бесплатный и открытый сервер с низким потреблением ресурсов.

Задача

Plex’s recent paywall changes and high CPU usage for transcoding on a low‑end NAS prompted a switch to a free, open‑source alternative.

Результат

The migration took a weekend, saved $120/year, reduced CPU load, and provided a fully free, open‑source media server with native photo support.

Рабочий процесс

• Set up Jellyfin in docker‑compose alongside Plex (port 8096 for Jellyfin, Plex stays on 32400)
• Point both at the same /media directory
• Run both for a week and compare UX
• After 7 days of side‑by‑side: choose Jellyfin
• Tear down Plex and drop the port

Доказательства

The breaking point was the 2025 Plex "pass" changes — when they started requiring a Plex Pass subscription for hardware-accelerated transcoding that used to be free.

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Jellyfin's hwaccel (Intel QuickSync) uses ~5% CPU for the same workload.

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The migration took a weekend

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Jellyfin 10.9 in Docker on Synology DS220+

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