There are many media servers out there for personal streaming enthusiasts, but for many of us, Plex has been part of our lives for a long time. Personally, I’ve been using Plex as my media server since 2011, upgraded to Plex Pass in 2014, and then finally stopped paying monthly and purchased a lifetime Plex Pass in 2018.

However, over the past six years or so, Plex as a company has slowly been trying to leave its original user base behind, transitioning into an ad-supported streaming company. I know many of you are going to say, “Switch to Emby, Kodi, or the new hotness, Jellyfin.” I’m not here to argue which media server is better. I’m simply saying that I’ve tried those alternatives, and regardless of Plex’s issues, I already have a lifetime Plex Pass, and for my needs, Plex is still the best option available.

Now, with that said, if I were starting from scratch today, I would probably go with Jellyfin. The jump in Plex Pass Lifetime pricing to $750 is pretty insane, especially considering how much Jellyfin has improved over the past few years.

So what am I really here to talk about? My biggest problem with Plex right now isn’t the server—it’s the client applications.

About 90% of the time, the official Plex app simply will not play my 4K content reliably. My Plex server sits on a 10Gb network inside my home, and I have Apple TVs, Android TVs, and Roku TVs throughout the house. None of the Plex client apps on those platforms consistently stream my 4K content. Most of the time I get transcoding errors, and even when I disable transcoding and force Direct Play, the problem still occurs.

It’s incredibly frustrating. The choice often becomes watching the 1080p version, the 720p version, or not watching anything at all.

Fortunately, there are alternatives.

For Roku users, you’re mostly out of luck. Roku is simply too locked down. Thankfully, those TVs are secondary TVs in my home and don’t get used very often. Over time, I’ve been replacing them with Apple TVs anyway.

That leaves Apple TV and Android TV as the primary platforms in my house, and there are several Plex alternatives available for those devices. I’ll include a full list at the bottom of this article, but the one I want to focus on today is Infuse.

Infuse has become my go-to client because I’m heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem. It works across Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad, and it completely solves my biggest issue with the Plex client app: playing 4K content reliably.

Infuse also removes all of the ad-supported clutter that Plex has gradually added to its client applications over the past several years. No live TV. No rentals. No ad-supported on-demand content. No trailers for movies I don’t care about. Just my media library, organized and presented the way I want it. Beyond Plex support, Infuse can connect to local files on your device, network shares on your local network, and cloud storage providers such as Dropbox, OneDrive, and many others. It can also connect to other media servers, including Emby and Jellyfin. That means if you eventually decide to move away from Plex, you can keep the client you like and simply switch your backend server.

Are there downsides? Yes.

The biggest one is that to get the full functionality Infuse offers, you’ll probably want to create a local library. While I personally like this feature, I find the cloud synchronization to be somewhat unreliable across multiple devices. It also consumes a fair amount of storage if you have a large media collection.

The second downside is cost. While Infuse does have a free tier, most Plex users will want the paid version. Pricing is fairly reasonable at $1.99 per month, $16.99 per year, or $99.99 for a lifetime license. Even so, it’s still another subscription, and if you’re running your own media server, subscriptions are usually something you’re trying to avoid.

The way I approached it was simple: I paid monthly for a while, decided I liked it, and then purchased the lifetime license. I much prefer one-time purchases over subscriptions, so I always appreciate when companies offer a lifetime option.

There are other alternatives worth looking at as well. VidHub offers functionality very similar to Infuse and works across both Apple and Android ecosystems. Plezy is another newer Apple-focused client that has been gaining popularity among Plex users.

Regardless of which option you choose, I highly recommend trying some third-party Plex clients. You may find that they dramatically improve your personal media experience while allowing you to continue using the server you’ve already invested in.

A full list of Plex-compatible client alternatives, along with supported platforms and links, can be found below.

Plex Server Client Alternatives

**Full Video Clients**

* Infuse — Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro
Website: firecore.com/infuse

* VidHub — Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Android TV
Website: vidhub.video

* Plezy — iOS, Android, Android TV, tvOS, Windows, macOS, Linux
Website: plezy.app

* Kodi + Plex Add-on — Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Xbox
Website: kodi.tv

* PlexKodiConnect — Any platform running Kodi
Website: github.com/croneter/PlexKodiConnect

* MrMC — Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV
Website: mrmc.tv

**Live TV / Channel Style Clients**

* QuasiTV — Android TV, Fire TV
Website: quasitv.app

**Audiobook Clients**

* Prologue — iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, CarPlay
Website: prologue.audio

* Bookcamp — iPhone, iPad, Android, Android Auto
Website: bookcamp.app

**Music Clients**

* Prism Music — iPhone, iPad, CarPlay
Website: prism-music.app

* Plexamp — Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, CarPlay, Android Auto
Website: plexamp.com

Official Plex app, but still useful as a separate music-focused Plex client.