I’ve toyed with the idea of using Emby and Jellyfin for my home media streaming setup for a while—but ultimately, Plex won. Its user-friendly setup and UI, wide client compatibility, and universal watch list are far too handy for me to switch to one of its direct competitors.
4
Getting Set Up Is Simple and Straightforward
On Windows, downloading and installing Plex, Emby, and Jellyfin is all relatively easy. However, Plex does a lot of the backend automatically (and has a few boxes to tick), and it ultimately won for me. As someone who wanted to explore the usefulness of a media server, picking software with the path of least resistance was very important to me.
I love that Plex is fantastic at pulling metadata, all without my input and much more consistently than Jellyfin and Emby. And since Plex did most of the work for me, I could ignore plugins altogether—at least until I was ready to start tweaking my server, which I did. There are several great plugins for Plex I recommend, but by no means are they necessary.
At some point, I’ll be investing in a NAS, and, again, Plex will be my go-to since it requires nothing more than downloading the server itself.
3
The UI Feels Better to Use
The best way I can describe Plex’s UI over Emby and Jellyfin is that it feels “fuller.” There’s nowhere near as much negative space, and the tiles are much bigger and more recognizable. With live TV and free movies on my homepage, it also gives the UI more life, making it look like a streaming platform instead of a mere media server.
Since I generally use Plex on my PS5, the UI takes on the aesthetic of Netflix, with little blurbs that pop up whenever I hover over a movie or show. Emby and Jellyfin feel more like Max, where I have to select something first to get a synopsis.
2
Plex Has Numerous Clients
In my house, there is no allegiance to a single platform; it’s a mixed bag here. My other half loves her iMac (and Mac in general) but also loves her Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Meanwhile, my oldest son has an iPhone, a Samsung tablet, and a Windows PC. My youngest son and I also use Samsung tablets and Windows PCs. I also like streaming content from my Roku device, PS5, and Xbox One.
With all of us enjoying Plex in one way or another, we need a media server that can handle all of them. Jellyfin doesn’t have a client for consoles, and Emby doesn’t have one for PS5. I need a client that works with all the devices in my house, not just a handful.
1
Plex’s Streaming Service Integration is Super Useful
Plex’s live TV and free movies get flak for just existing, but I like it. I don’t pay for television anymore, so whenever I want to turn my brain off or watch reruns of Charmed, it’s right there. For me, it’s just more of a reason to use Plex for more than housing my collection.
There’s also this really neat feature that allows me to use Plex as a streaming service hub. I can toggle my streaming services and populate my search results with content from those platforms. Then, rather than having my watch lists spread across multiple services, I can create an ultimate watch list on Plex.
I totally understand why some would prefer Emby and Jellyfin over Plex. The idea of having a fully self-hosted media server is very tempting, but until the two age, widen compatibility, and maybe give the UI a little makeover, I’ll stick to Plex for now. I’ll keep Emby and Jellyfin on my radar, though.
