Plex is tripling the cost of its lifetime subscription up to $750, starting July 1
The popular media server and streaming platform Plex has announced a dramatic price hike for its Lifetime Plex Pass, raising it from $249.99 to $749.99 starting at 12:01 AM UTC on July 1, 2026. That means the company is TRIPLING the current price in a single move, giving users until June 30 to lock in the existing rate. Current Lifetime Plex Pass subscribers will not be affected by the change.
The increase is especially striking because Plex had already raised the lifetime plan from $119.99 to $249.99 in March last year, more than doubling the original price. Now, just over a year later, the company is pushing the same plan up again by another massive jump. Plex says it had considered removing the Lifetime Pass entirely, but decided to keep it at a much higher price while pointing to recurring subscriptions as a more stable way to support ongoing development.
The pricing for the other type of tiers remains unchanged. Plex Pass will still cost $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year, while the Plex Remote Watch Pass stays at $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year. Even so, the scale of this increase is likely to drive a rush of last minute lifetime purchases before July, while also making the one time plan far less accessible going forward. In any case, it never hurts to remind you that there are plenty of equally interesting alternatives right here 😉
- Media Server
- Freemium
- Proprietary
Related news
External links
- New Lifetime Plex Pass PricingPlex • Official source
- Plex's Lifetime Subscription Cost Is Tripling To $750Engadget
- Plex's 200% Lifetime Pass price hike tries forcing users to another subscriptionArs Technica
- Plex Announces Massive Price Hike on Lifetime Subscription Plans IGN
- Plex is tripling the price of a lifetime pass to $750 after doubling it last yearThe Verge
Comments
I have to be honest, I have never understood the need for Plex. A storage solution like a NAS and Tailscale is all I have ever needed.
They really want those subscription counts to up.
....so.... plex will be taken over around january '27 ? Or what exactly should we consider from this "uplift" in pricing if not a synthetic value raise before sale ?
I suspect the same thing. They are trying to get some cash flow to last until a sale can be arranged. I would be checking the FAQ and TOS right now. What happens to the movie library and service if the company gets bought?
predict jan 27 2027, plex is bought by crunchyroll.
I've moved out of Plex years ago, never seen enshitification hit so hard on self-hosted services.
That would be an unpopular opinion, but for some services, enshitification is unavoidable. When you provide service for $100, but the real cost for the company is $500 per client, they eventually have to make people pay one way or another or go out of business. It is very common with startups that try to get a client base as fast as possible. A decent way to start a business is to offer real value for a real price from the start, but people got so used to freebies that service at a real price will bury a new business immediately. And I am not talking about profitable or established businesses. They go in for enshittification for different reasons.
@BorisF The bigger a company gets the more they can afford to lower prices, not the other way around. There is no excuse for enshitification besides greed.