Survey reveals Lifetime Plex Pass' popularity, and I am as surprised as you are

Plex is a central part of many home entertainment builds. The platform, which lets users easily stream content stored on a home server to multiple devices when needed, isn’t the only option in its field, but many see its ease of use and broad functionality as an advantage. What certainly isn’t is the recent price hikes that have tainted the platform for cash-strapped consumers.

From June 1, Plex will raise the price of its Remote Watch Pass, making it more expensive for users to watch Plex content outside their home network. This follows a series of increases to the Plex Pass in 2025. And perhaps more detrimental to the platform’s future growth, its latest price hike affects the one-time-payment Plex Lifetime Pass, which increases by 300% to $749.99 from July 1.

To get a sense of just how many of our readers pay for the service, we ran a poll. However, it’s important to note that this poll was conducted before the Lifetime Pass increase was announced. Nevertheless, the results certainly highlight the surprising popularity of this payment option.

Just under 5,000 votes were cast in this poll, and remarkably, almost four in every five respondents (79.7%) not only pay for Plex but also own a Lifetime Plex Pass. That demonstrates the significant number of Plex users willing to pay the higher one-time fee to access all the platform’s features. There is a high chance that many of these readers are long-time subscribers and paid far less than the current $249.99 price, but it remains to be seen how the 300% price increase will affect this tier’s growth in the coming months.

The next-largest voting cohort, comprising around 14% of respondents, uses Plex but would “never pay” for the service. A tiny portion of respondents pay for Remote Watch Pass (1.5%) and Plex Pass (4.4%), indicating that just under 6% of those who pay for Plex and vote in this poll don’t opt for a Lifetime Plex Pass.

For most voters, it’s a Lifetime Plex Pass or nothing

It’s safe to say the Lifetime Plex Pass increase will significantly affect how customers pay for Plex. In many ways, the subscription tiers now appear far more appealing than the one-time payment. Alternatively, it could alienate those considering buying into the Plex ecosystem. Readers who left comments on our price hike announcement article were eager to share their feelings with Plex.

jimmiller96 writes:

I think this is the end of Plex. They have forgotten their customers who have been there from the beginning. New “features” and a new “ui” have actually made it more difficult to use. My wife actually prefers using Jellyfin now.

$259 was far too expensive. Obscene actually. Plex has lost their way. Thank heavens there are better options.

Reader herranton echoes this sentiment, highlighting an open source alternative:

Lol. I guess jellyfin it is. This is how you kill your business. $250 was already unreasonable.

Others highlight how cheap a Plex Lifetime Pass used to be. “So glad I got a lifetime pass for $75 on Black Friday back in like 2015 or 2016,” writes reader Mega DP.

It’s worth noting that the ~80% of respondents on this poll largely dodged a bullet. Those who’ve already paid for Lifetime access will not need to fork out the difference. However, new users who want to spin up their own home servers will certainly need to factor Plex’s massive price hike into their overall plan.

If you are currently planning a home server or were a few clicks away from integrating Plex into your existing setup, how does the price hike for the Lifetime Plex Pass affect things? Will you still consider purchasing it? Will you opt for an alternative or move to one of the subscriptions instead? Vote in our poll above, and be sure to leave a comment explaining your reasoning.