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Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS? Which is Best?

Which is the Best NAS Media Server Tool – Plex, Emby or Jellyfin

Although modern Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices can be used for a multitude of purposes, there has always been a large percentage of users who buy a NAS from the likes of Synology, QNAP, Asustor and Terramaster (or go full DiY/Open Source and opt for TrueNAS) in order to host their own multimedia server. If you have been out of the loop this last decade or so, then you might not be aware that the standard of media server software and ease of use has evolved incredibly and when it comes to NAS drive multimedia streaming, there are THREE big players in this arena – Plex, Jellyin and Emby. These three platforms (alongside many others, including tools such as Video Station from the NAS brands themselves) have allowed users who own DECADES of digital media (Movies, TV Shows, Music, Photos, eBooks, Comics, etc) to not only access them conveniently remotely from the comfort of their soft/hotel room/commuter train/beach – but also do so with the slick graphical user interface that you would often associate with premium streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. This is done thanks to massive only databases (such as TheMovieDatabase and IMDb) that mean that your years of multimedia is scanned, sorted, and arranged into searchable titles. It then adds boxart, movie posters, cast lists, trailers, synopsis, trailers, extra content and more. Suddenly your dull breadcrumb ‘file/folder’ pile of media takes on an insane quality level and you have your very own personal Netflix – BUT CRUCIALLY YOU OWN ALL THE MEDIA!! That is the appeal of media server software like Jellyfin, Plex and Emby!

Jellyfin

VS

Plex

VS

Emby

Truly Open Source? Premium Package? The Middle Ground?

Although all three are quite similar on the face of it, all three have appealing design, interface, cost and customization choices that will almost certainly make one of them more suitable for you than the others! All three are supported by the bulk of modern NAS platforms, with via an available app in the brand’s official app center, available via a 3rd party app center (see QNAPClub or Synocommunity for example) or allow you to create a container within the NAS software and run from there, but there are definitely distinctions between all three that you might want to know before taking the plunge on your new multimedia server setup! So, today I want to go through all of the differences between Plex, Emby and Jellyfin media servers and, hopefully, by the end help you decide which is best for you!

Note – A huge thank you to Protektor-Desura for his time breaking down these services and his permission to use his data. You can find out more about his ongoing project HERE.

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – What have they ALL got in Common?

Before we go any further, it is worth highlighting the things there are supported by all three of these media server applications. It needs to be underlined that regardless of your specific requirements, Plex, Jellyfin and Emby are all EXCELLENT media server applications and alongside a massive range of client applications to watch/listen/read your multimedia on your devices, they have all grown into platforms that rival most paid subscription streaming services like Prime, Netflix, Disney+, etc. Here is a quick snapshot of all the things that Jellyfin, Emby and Plex have in common:

Plex, Emby and Jellyfin ALL Support the following:

(Note – Some Services for Emby/Plex Require Subscription Services)

  • 1080p/4K Support
  • AV1 Compression Support
  • H.265/HEC Support
  • Metadata Scraping
  • Group Watching
  • Android/iOS Client
  • Amazon Fire TV App
  • Apple TV App
  • Roku App
  • Android TV App
  • Desktop PC/Mac Client
  • Hardware Transcoding
  • Live TV / DVR
  • Multiple Users
  • Offline Downloads
  • Smart Home Integration
  • TV/Movie Tracking

Now, there are a whole bunch of other things that Plex, Emby and Jellfin have in common (the above list would easily be 10x longer if I names them all), so I stuck with the most requested/sought-after features. But what about the things that they don’t have in common? Or those things that are locked behind a subscription/one-off-fee? Let’s begin with the first difference that many users consider the biggest hurdle – the cost of Plex, Emby and Jellyfin.

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – Pricing

Now, for many users, the idea that the media server software that they want to use on their NAS costing them MORE money is REALLY annoying! The whole point for many users making the switch AWAY from streaming services (Netflix, HBO Max, etc) is because they wanted to spend that money on the hardware to watch the media they own, as well as ensure that it’s not changed/removed from one money to the next. Now, unfortunately, this is only half the story! The fact is that media platforms such as Jellyfin, Plex and Emby have REAL PEOPLE working o them, as well as continued development (and that is not even factoring in security/stability/feature improvements in the software’s life) that all needs to be subsidized. The NAS brands DO NOT financially support them, the Streaming services actively avoid/discourage them and although users can always donate – the user vs donation ratio is obviously is painfully uneven. Therefore unless these platforms embrace advertisements and/or 3rd party sponsorship (which is a slippery slop for many), the more ambitious platforms need to find ways to fundraise their services in a way that doesn’t hurt casual/low-end users, but pushes the heavier users to support the service.

Here is how Plex, Jellyfin and Emby breakdown their costs:

Server License Fees

Jellyfin

Plex

Emby

Free Option? Yes, Completely Yes, but some services unavailable Yes, but some services Unavailable + Some Client Apps Need One-off payment
Monthly Free

Unlimited Users

Plex Pass

$4.99 (15 devices)

Emby Premiere

$4.99 (25 devices)

Yearly Free

Unlimited Users

Plex Pass

$39.99 (15 devices)

Emby Premiere

$54.00 (25 devices)

Lifetime Free

Unlimited Users

Plex Pass

$119.99 (15 devices)

Emby Premiere

$119.00 (25 devices)

So, IMMEDIATELY Jellyfin looks appealing, RIGHT? It’s totally free for the server application, client tools and (remember the chart above showing what all three support) has most of the same features as Plex and Emby. Although all three have free-to-use options, the ability to use ALL services and client tools is where the subscription services appear. Of the three, Emby works out the tiniest bit more expensive, but actually (when you work it out at the per-user vs cost) it is largely identical to Plex in costs. The main reason that Emby works out the most expensive technically is that although the Emby Premiere subscription is optional, some of the client applications (eg iOS, Android, FireTV, etc) require you to either have an existing Premiere subscription OR pay a one-off fee. Plex allows you to install the app for free on most platforms, but limits the range of supported services that you can use (eg, hardware transcoding, share watch, etc) without a Plex Pass subscription in place. Next, let’s dig deeper into those available features and services available in Emby, Jellyfin and Plex to see what is available, what differs and what is free/paid-for!

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – Features, Functions and Supported Formats

Now, as mentioned in the introduction, Emby, Plex and Jellyfin all support a whole bunch of services and features to help you enjoy a wide range of multimedia, in a wide range of formats and on a wide range of devices! But there is definitely some disparity when you dig deeper. Let’s go through the range of supported features of these three applications and see where they start to separate:

Features

Jellyfin

Plex

Emby

License GPL v2 Full Commercial Full Commercial
Client/Server Yes Yes Yes
4K Support Yes Yes Yes
ATSC 3.0 Support
(4K HEVC Main 10 profile at Level 5.2 Main Tier,
HDR, Dolby AC-4, MPEG-H 3D Audio)
No No No
AV1 Support Yes No Yes
Audiobook Support Yes No Yes
Bandwidth Limiting Yes Yes Yes
Camera/Photo Upload No No License
Collections Yes Yes Yes
Comic Book Support Yes No No
Commerical Skip 3rd Party Add-on/Free License No
E-Book Support Yes No No
Favorites and Tags Yes No Yes
Game Support No $2.99/Month Broken
Group Watching SyncPlay/Free Watch Together/License Limited/Free
Hardware Transcoding Yes License License
Internet Radio Support Yes No No
Intro Skipping YesPlugin Yes Yes
LDAP Support Yes No License
Live TV/DVR Support Yes License License
Lyrics No License No
Magazine Support Yes No No
Mobile Media Optimizer No License No
Mobile Sync No License License
Movie Support Yes Yes Yes
Multiple Plugin Repositories Yes No No
Multiple Users Yes License Yes
Music Support Yes Yes Yes
Music Video Support Yes Yes Yes
Offline Media
(Download & Play Offline)
Yes/Free License License
Parent Controls Yes License Yes
Per User Bandwidth Limit Yes/Free License License
Photo Albums Yes License Yes
Plug-in Support Yes No Yes
Podcast Support 3rd Party Add-on/Free No Yes
Recommend & Discover Yes Yes Yes
Remote Login Server Never Yes Yes
Server Backup No Yes License
Server Stats Playback/FreeReports/FreeEmbystat/Free LicenseTautulli/Free YesEmbyStat/Free
Sharing Libraries No Yes No
Simultaneous Login Limits Yes No Yes
Smart Home/Voice Control Alexa/FreeHome Assistant/Free Alexa/LicenseGoogle/Free Alexa/LicenseGoogle/License
Theme Songs and Videos 3rdParty Plugin/Free Yes/Songs only License
TIDAL Music
(Requires Subscription)
3rd Party Add-on/Free License No
Tonemapping CPU No Yes Yes
Tonemapping GPU Yes Yes Yes
Trailers & Extras Yes Yes Yes
Tuner Sharing No No No
TV Episode Support Yes Yes Yes
TV Guide Data Yes/3rdParty Add-on/FreefHDHR/Free License License
Virtual Reality No License No
Video Chapters Metadata DL No No No

Now, Jellyfin is the most open of the three (cough because it’s pure Open Source), and as good as that sounds, it is worth remembering that this does come with a downfall in platform development when compared to the platforms that get user-subsidy via subscription. Jellyfin is the less visually modern of the three (for those that care) and also throws alot of information at you on the server side, whilst not guiding the user as much. This results in a slightly steeper learning curve vs Plex and Emby. Emby also suffers from this a little, but also does a slightly better job of guiding the user through the experience. The main difference here is regarding the extent of open source! Of the three, PLEX is the one that is the closest to ‘the establishment’, it has long since shrugged off it’s free ‘indie’ type image, as it is the closest in design, appearance and presentation to subscription services. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as this results in a premium level of support, development and updates, connections with existing services and just generally a much better-presented platform overall (server-side and client-side) that is more user-friendly and intuitive – exactly what you would expect from the more premium presented/priced package in 2023/2024. However, this also results in the platform being alot more rigid, restricting optional add-ons and packages that are typically ‘unofficial’ (i.e. ones that Plex do not add to the service themselves). Equally, that Development vs Subsidy balance results in ALOT of the more exciting features being locked/restricted behind a Plex Pass subscription. This is initially understandable (again, see previous paragraph about supporting good work), but many users bulk at the idea of paying for a service, when they already paid for their hardware and said software will occasionally intentionally limit that hardware utility behind the subscription. Both Emby and Plex are guilty of this. Let’s talk about Hardware Transcoding!

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – Hardware Transcoding

What is Transcoding? Transcoding (also referred to as encoding, decoding and converting in similar means) is when a file is changed in order to be better suited to the destination client device that it will be enjoyed on. Here are some examples of when you might need to take advantage of transcoding:

Transcoding can be done in advance (offline transcoding) or as/when the file is being accessed (known as on-the-fly transcoding) and that later one requires your NAS/Media Server to have sufficient hardware to change the file quickly enough to keep up with organic natural playback (i.e. it takes less than a second to convert/transcode a second of media). Now, you can use software transcoding (i.e the NAS will use raw CPU/System power to change the file, which is less efficient and less effective) or you can use hardware transcoding, which uses specifically available NAS system hardware (graphics card or CPU integrated graphics) to do the job, which is MUCH faster and MUCH MORE efficient. Where Plex and Emby hit a wall is that both platforms have put hardware transcoding support in their premium subscription services Plex Pass and Emby Premiere. This effectively means that the media server software is charging you to use the hardware in your NAS. This upsets quite a few people. Now, in their defence, hardware transcoding does require the software to be adaptive to different graphical hardware, requires time/energy invested in optimizing the software to take advantage of the hardware the best it can and is technically a more specialized media service/function that is not used by everyone – so in a way it makes sense tha this would be one of the optional settings to use as a means to subsidize development in their platform. However, the fact that Hardware Transcoding is available for free in Jellyfin is one of the strongest benefits that users that need this service will observe when comparing Jellyfin, Plex and Emby.

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – Supported NAS Hardware & Software Server Platforms

Although Plex, Jellyfin and Emby are all supported on the bulk of NAS platforms, the actual installation of them on NAS devices (from brands such as Synology ,QNAP, WD, Asustor and Terramster) or Custom built NAS servers that run on TrueNAS Core, TrueNAS Scale or UnRAID is not as straight forward from one media server app to the other. Here is how the three media server applications compare with it comes to installing the server-side application for Emby, Plex and Jellyfin:

Server OS

Jellyfin

Plex

Emby

Android No Yes Yes
Asusor No Yes Yes
Docker Yes Yes Yes
FreeBSD No Yes Yes
Linux Yes Yes Yes
MacOS Yes Yes Yes
Netgear ReadyNAS No Yes Yes
Nvidia Shield No Yes Yes
Open Media Vault Yes Yes Yes
QNAP No Yes Yes
Rasberry Pi Yes Yes Yes
Synology Yes Yes Yes
Terra Master No Yes Yes
Thecus No Yes Yes
TrueNAS No (docker supported) Yes Yes
WD My Cloud & My Passport No Yes Yes
Windows Yes Yes Yes

Straight away, you can see that the installation of Plex and Emby on..well..EVERYTHING is supported. Once again, that optional paid subscription model has evidently paid off! Not only is Jellyfin not available as a standalone installer on a large number of platform, but in some cases it can only be installed as a custom-built container application (requiring a container hypervisor such as Docker) and although this is not hugely difficult, it will be dependant on the end user to create it right, as well as the efficiency of the NAS hardware in question to run the container as efficiently as possible. Overall, when it comes to the installation of the server-side application for these three multimedia server applications, Plex and Emby are winning the race! However, this is just the client-side application (i.e the one running the media server on your NAS), what about the support of the client applications for all your devices? Let’s take a look.

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – Supported Client Apps & Player Devices

The success of your multimedia server is going to be based on the smoothness of how well your NAS runs the server slide Plex, Emby or Jellyfin application – but also HUGELY dependant on the quality and extent of how well it is supported on the devices that you plan on accessing and enjoying your multimedia (referred to as clients or client-tools). Although all three applications can be accessed via the majority of web browsers (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Mozilla, Opera, etc), the bulk of users want to access their media via their phones, laptops, Smart TVs and streaming boxes such as FireTV and Roku. The range of supported clients and the means/extent of their use is possibly one of the biggest areas of difference between Emby, Plex and Jellyfin that you will find! Here is how they compare:

Clients

Jellyfin

Plex

Emby

Android Free (Google Store)Free (F-Droid Store)Free (Amazon Store)MrMC $2.99 $5 or Server License $5 or Server License
AndroidTV Free Free $5 or Server License
AppleTV FreeInFuse $.99/month, $9.99/yearly, or $74.99/lifetimeMrMC $6.99 Free $5 or Server License
FireTV Free Free $5 or Server License
GoogleDaydream VR No $5 or Server License No
iOS Free $5 or Server License $5 or Server License
Kodi Jellyfin-Kodi/FreeJellycon/Free PlexKodiConnect/Free Embycon/Free
LenovoMirage Solo VR No $5 or Server License No
Linux Free No No
MacOS Free Free $5 or Server License
OculusGo VR No $5 or Server License No
Roku Free Free Free
SamsungGear VR No $5 or Server License No
Sonos DLNA Free DLNA
SonyPlaystation 3 DLNA/WebBrowser Free DLNA/WebBrowser
SonyPlaystation 4 DLNA/WebBrowser Free DLNA/WebBrowser
Tivo DVR Box No Free No
Tizen(Samsung TV) Free/Not in Store Free Free
WebBrowser Free Free Free
WebOS(LG TV) Free Free Free
Windows Free Free $5or Server License
Xbox360 No Free No
XboxOne FreeVideotape/Free Free $5 or Server License

So, let’s break this down a little. In the case of Jellyfin, the application continues to be largely free and available on the bulk of currently used client hardware platforms. I say ‘largely’, because in some cases Jellyfin is not available as a direct client application for those platforms. You will need to use 3rd pary tools/plugins on some client hardware, some apps are glorified browser tabs with a lite GUI on top and some need to have a small fee to maintain their existence on certain app centers. Emby on the other hand is available on more platforms than Jellyfin, however, a large number of those platforms require you to either have an existing Emby Premiere subscription in place in order to download/use them or need you to pay a fee at the app center in order to use them. Finally, we have Plex, which is the one that seems to be the most freely available client application, widely available native installer client app and has much fewer instances of app-payment requirements than Emby.

Now there IS the argument that Emby and Plex need to subsidize these apps being hosted on these app centers, as their continued appearance there and patches being developed over time needs funding. But I do think the availability and potential pricing of these tools is something that is not advertised enough and something that many users do not realize until AFTER they have invested a bunch of time setting up their respective Emby/Plex Media server on their NAS. Jellyfin is clearly the one that is trying to keep itself Free/Open-Source as much as possible, but that comes with limitations on how far they can stretch themselves and the ease of installation on client devices in some cases.

Plex vs Jellyfin vs Emby on a NAS – Conclusion

Choosing between a Jellyfin, Emby and Plex Media Server NAS for your massive multimedia collection is one that going to be about the extent you are going to use it! If you are looking to create a simple media server that is largely accessible everywhere, but has lots of users, is user-friendly on both the server/client side, won’t need all the bells and whistles of a higher-end media enthusiast and you are just looking for a pretty way to enjoy your existing media that compares with premium subscription services – GO FOR PLEX!

If you are looking for a moderately customizable and featured multimedia server that gives you a good balance of control, usability and hardware support, but where the pricing can be a lot more flexible/ad-hoc (i.e one off payment per client of $5) and want the slick GUI, but also the option to customize it and take advantage of a few community add-ons – GO FOR EMBY!

Finally, if you are much more of a multimedia enthusiast, have a wide range of different media formats (i.e Audio, Video, literature and more), want to be able to link a large number of other services/tool and want to take advantage of the full extent of your NAS hardware (but are prepared for a slightly higher learning curve) – GO FOR JELLYFIN!

In summary, here are the pros and cons of each:

Clients

Jellyfin

Plex

Emby

Pros
  • Largely FREE on the client and Server side
  • Supports Many more formats of media
  • Wide range of supported Plugins
  • Live TV / DVR Services are free to add
  • Much more customizable
  • Much more hardware efficient
  • Offline Downloads Supported
  • Easiest to setup on Server/Client side
  • Massive available as a client/server application with widest support
  • Very User Friendly
  • Optional Premium Support/Service options for Users
  • Technically cheaper than Emby
  • One-off app payment vs regular subscription will appeal to some users
  • Phone Camera Upload Support
  • More Customizable than Plex, in add ons and GUI
  • More Client/Server apps available than Jellyfin
  • More media analytical tools than Plex
Cons
  • Steeper learning curve
  • Fewer ready-to-go installer applications on client/server side
  • Lacking some System config backup options vs Plex/Emby
  • Lacks Premium/Paid support/Service option
  • Some Subscription/Paid restrictions
  • Hardware Transcoding PLEX Pass barrier is annoying!
  • Offline Downloads behind Subscription Service
  • Lacks customization and Add ons of Emby/Jellyfin
  • Live TV / DVR Support is behind Subscription
  • Hardware Transcoding behind Subscription
  • Live TV / DVR Support behind Subscription
  • Offline Downloading behind Subscription
  • Not quite as widely available as Plex


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