SaaS
How many times would you have to watch Lord of the Rings to cover that?
Software platform Plex is killing its buy-once-use-forever model with an eye-watering hike of its Lifetime Plex Pass from $249.99 to $749.99.The increase will take effect on July 1, but does not apply to existing Lifetime Plex Pass holders. The existing monthly and annual subscription pricing for the service is also unchanged, suggesting Plex really would rather you subscribed.Lifetime Plex Passes used to cost $74.99, before increasing to $149.99 in 2014. It later fell back to $119.99 before jumping to $249.99 in April 2025. Just over a year later, the price is heading to $749.99.
Plex is used primarily as a media server. Load it up with content and point clients at it. The project has its origins in the Xbox Media Center (XBMC) from which it was forked. The server software runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and several network devices, and the client runs almost everywhere, including iOS and Android devices.
Remote access to a Plex media server used to be free, but in 2025 Plex shifted that functionality to its paid tiers. Other paid-tier functionality includes hardware transcoding and media file downloads."We've considered eliminating the Lifetime Plex Pass," Plex wrote. Considering the hike, it might as well have. An annual subscription costs $69.99, meaning it will take more than a decade before that $749.99 pays off. Unless, of course, Plex increases the subscription cost in the future.
