Plex is (already) back in the news again, this time with a focus on how much it will cost users for its Plex Pass subscriptions. With as many changes as the company has been making, including a hard push for making itself a more legitimate streaming product (when it comes to the many purposes people can use it for), price hikes have always been a concern as it was going to be a thing sooner than later.
Well, the sooner means now as a price hike is coming next month, and it will be one of the biggest users have seen yet. With it, comes Plex’s big update for its mobile apps, where some features (like Watch Together) will be retired and new ones will be born.
The price increase will occur on April 29th, 2025 (so no April Fools there, sadly). With that, the monthly price for Plex Pass will increase to $6.99/month (a $2 increase) and the yearly plan will increase to $69.99 (a $30 increase). Finally, the lifetime subscription (which still exists) will move from $119.99 to a whopping $249.99 (an increase of more than 100% of its current price tag). Current lifetime subscribers remain unaffected since they are already lifetime members.
This makes for a risky jump in price as it may alienate a lot of the younger users. It raises profits for each sale, but this only helps if the number of new sales/subscriptions remain the same. Plex says the increase is required to continue pushing forward with development (due to things like growing costs).
A Plex Pass will be required to provide remote access to your server, else you will be limited to watching locally on the same network (if you remain a free user). As an alternative, friends/family can subscribe to what they call a “Remote Watch Pass” which is $1.99/mo or $19.99/year. This would gain them access to your content, but you wouldn’t gain any of the additional perks that come with having a Plex Pass (and other users would also need to subscribe).
Clearly, if you plan to keep Plex for years to come, the lifetime subscription option is the best bet. This has always been the case and remains the case. It’s just a hell of a lot more expensive now (or will be next month). That being said, this would be the best time to hurry into a lifetime subscription before it goes up next month. So that you can lock yourself into the better price before it is too late.
