Jellyfin
Free, open-source, self-hosted media server for video, music, and photos, with no account required and no telemetry.
Replace today:
Plex Netflix
The Best Private Media Servers in 2026
Private alternatives to Plex, Netflix, vetted against our public criteria.
Showing 3 of 3
Navidrome
Open-source, self-hosted music server compatible with the Subsonic API, giving any Subsonic client access to your personal library.
Kavita
Open-source, self-hosted reading server for manga, comics, and ebooks, with a built-in browser reader.
No matches for those filters.
Streaming services rent you a library that can vanish when a license lapses, and even Plex now routes account features and some playback data through its cloud. A media server runs on your own hardware and streams your own video, music, and book libraries to any device, with no subscription and no account watching what you play.
What to look for in a media server
The core is simple: software you host that indexes your files and streams them to apps on your TV and phone. Look for a fully open-source server with no mandatory account and no phone-home, broad client support so the household will actually use it, and hardware transcoding if you want to reach weaker devices. One server can cover video while another handles music or books, which is why people often pair them.
Why the default cannot be fixed
A streaming subscription is a license, not ownership, so the catalog shifts under you and the app reports what you watch back to the company. Plex sits in between, self-hosted for the files but increasingly tied to its own cloud account and analytics. A server you fully control answers only to you, and keeps working with no subscription and no one keeping score of your viewing.
How to switch
Point a server at the media you already have, install the matching app on your TV and phone, and you have your own private streaming service. Start with one media type, video is the usual first, and add music or books later. The trade is that you supply the storage and the upkeep, in exchange for a library that no licensing deal can quietly delete.
Frequently asked
- How is this different from Plex?
- A media server like Plex is self-hosted for the files, but Plex increasingly routes account features and some discovery through its own cloud and collects usage data. The servers here are fully open source with no mandatory account, so the library answers only to you and nothing reports what you play.
- What do I need to run one?
- Any always-on computer works, from an old laptop to a NAS or a small home server, plus the media files you already own. You install the server software, point it at your files, and use a companion app on your TV or phone. Hardware transcoding helps if you stream to weaker devices.