Streaming platform developer Plex will be moving forward with a promised price increase on its “Plex Pass” membership on Tuesday, but there are still a few hours left to secure a lifetime subscription at the lower rate before the price adjustment goes into effect.
Back in March, Plex announced it was revamping its mobile, tablet, computer and smart TV apps with a new interface and underlying technology that is built from the ground up — a move that will bring a number of updates and premium features to its platform, including more social tools like user-generated ratings, shareable watch lists and a refreshed presentation of TV shows and movies.
These developments don’t come cheap, and Plex said a price increase is necessary to help financially support the new improvements over the long term.
DEAL: Get a lifetime Plex Pass for $120 before the price goes up on Tuesday!
Plex will remain a free streaming platform for most users, but those who want access to premium features like remote streaming, custom themes and hardware transcoding will be locked behind the Plex Pass, which will cost $7 per month or $70 per year, up from the current price of $5 per month or $50 per year.
Streamers have long been able to save money over their long-term use of Plex by purchasing a lifetime Plex Pass subscription for $120 — but the price of that will also increase on Tuesday, with streamers expected to shell out $250 for a lifetime membership.
That said, streamers who rely on Plex to watch content when they travel, or who want access to more-premium features like custom themes and hardware transcoding, can save money by purchasing a lifetime Plex Pass subscription through the end of Monday at the original price of $120.
While Plex is making substantial changes to its pricing and features, it is also removing at least one fee that has plagued the Plex experience for some time: When the new Plex apps lands on mobile device — it is already available for Apple phone and tablet users — the company will remove an activation fee that charged Plex users for the privilege of streaming their own files to mobile devices. (Plex Pass subscribers were not charged the mobile unlock fee.)
Other parts of the Plex experience will largely remain unchanged: The service continues to offer hundreds of free, ad-supported streaming TV channels that range from news, sports, movies, retro TV, documentaries, indie films and foreign shows, as well as thousands of TV shows and movies that are free to watch on-demand with ads.
