Streaming service and software maker Plex is raising its prices. The company announced on Wednesday its first price increase in a decade for its premium subscription service Plex Pass, which offers power users a variety of additional features, like offline access, themes, hardware transcoding, and other advanced settings. The service will now cost $6.99 per month, up from $4.99 previously.
The yearly cost will also increase to $69.99 up from $39.99, and the lifetime Plex Pass will be $249.99, up from $119.99. The changes will go into effect on April 29, giving Plex Pass subscribers a few more weeks to lock in the lifetime Plex Pass at the cheaper rate ahead of the price hike.
Alongside this news, Plex announced changes to remote playback for personal media, the removal of a “mobile unlock” fee, and updates to Plex’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
For the latter, the company stressed that it does not and will not share or sell user data related to personal media, titles in the media library, or use of a personal media server. However, the new policies explain how Plex’s sharing of user data has changed to include Plex activity, based on the user’s Account visibility and activity settings. It also further clarifies how and why Plex shares or sells data, including its use for advertising purposes.
The new policies will apply to those who create a Plex account after Thursday. Existing users will be asked to consent to the new terms at a later date.
Meanwhile, Plex says the price changes will allow it to keep up with the rising costs of supporting subscribers and those who use Plex for managing their personal media collections. This includes Plex’s plans for new features like a coming integration with Common Sense Media to bring its ratings and reviews aimed at parents to Plex Pass holders.
Plex is also working on a new server management app for web and mobile and an open API for sever integrations, a blog post notes.
These changes come after other paid streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube TV, and others repeatedly raised their own subscription rates.
Two other, smaller updates are rolling out to Plex users, as well.
One ditches the one-time activation fee that was previously required to remove the one-minute playback limitation on streaming content from a Plex Media Server to a mobile device on iOS or Android. When the new mobile Plex experience launches on mobile, the fee will no longer be required.
Another change will make remote playback for personal media a paid feature instead of free. Citing the need for “more resources,” Plex users will need to either upgrade to a Plex Pass subscription to use this feature or take advantage of a new Remote Watch Pass subscription, which is better for those who don’t run their own server but want to stream from a family member or friend who’s not a subscriber. The new subscription could also appeal to those who don’t need all the perks that come with a full Plex Pass subscription, but want access to remote playback and select features like Skip Intro and Skip Credits.
The Remote Watch Pass subscription will be available starting on April 29 for the introductory price of $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year.
“These changes weren’t made lightly, and we’ve spent a lot of time weighing the best path forward to ensure we can continue to balance value with a best-in-class personal media experience for years to come,” the blog post states.
