Plex vs Kodi: which one is better? We compare Plex and Kodi, the most famous and used multimedia centers around the world, so you will have in-depth knowledge and decide on which one to use.
Comparison: Plex vs Kodi, which one is better?
Beyond the multimedia playback functionality offered by Plex and Kodi, both of those applications allow you to turn your PC, mobile device or Smart TV into a powerful multimedia center. This way, you can have a wide library of video and music content in order to be able to access it at any time. Both Plex and Kodi offer similar functionality, allowing you to access your local library of movies, shows, and series instead of streaming them online. We will compare Plex vs Kodi for you, and you will have a better understanding on this subject.
Plex seeks to offer something similar to the experience you get with Netflix, using built-in artificial intelligence to search the web and provide thumbnails and related content from your movie library.Kodi, on the other hand, offers a much more customizable experience through the use of a complete set of add-ons in which you can configure the platform as you like to collect content from anywhere.
- Best ways to use Plex: Tricks for a better streaming experience
- Best alternatives to Plex media center
- What is Plex and how does it work?
Plex vs Kodi: key features
Based on what is indicated, with Plex Media Server you will have a digital media center to access not only movies and TV shows that you have stored on a NAS drive on your local network, but also photos and other multimedia files.
You can then access Plex on a variety of different platforms and view the content you have on any device, without worrying about transferring and transcoding content to make it compatible. The platform takes care of it.
In fact, Plex allows you to access your content both when you are at home and when you are away. It is adviced to use a VPN connection. You should consider this when you are comparing Plex vs Kodi.
Plex wants to become the Netflix of your local streaming content. To do this, the service uses file metadata to automatically search the Internet and add thumbnail covers, subtitles, short descriptions, and other useful information. The platform offers a clean and easy-to-use user interface, which makes it a great option for users.
Plex vs Kodi: new features
A relatively new feature makes it possible for you to stream legal content for free. Another additional functionality in Plex comes with Plex Pass. For $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, you will be able to use the premium service, in which you are granted access to advanced functions of the platform.
Among the most important features, there are like offline playback on mobile phones, access to parental controls, backup copies of photos and videos or the ability to add related content such as trailers or censored scenes to your library.
If we compare Plex vs Kodi we should talk about Kodi too. Like Plex, Kodi is a free-to-use digital media center that provides instant access to your library of locally stored movies and TV shows.
Kodi is an open-source project with contributors from around the world and it is a very active online community. While Plex is easier to set up, Kodi is aimed at users with some prior knowledge. A large number of addons are available on the internet. This makes Kodi very customizable.
Availability and platforms
What is the point of having a multimedia center of this type if it does not allow you to access it from any device you have in your possession? The good news is that both applications are available on a variety of devices.
- Free TV on Plex, now available to all users
- Plex announced a Netflix like feature: Watch Together
- How to add Netflix and use it on Plex?
Plex, for example, can be used on almost every conceivable platform, from Android to iOS and on dedicated operating systems such as tvOS, Roku OS or those associated with Apple products. Also as a Kodi add-on.
What about availability? If we compare Plex vs Kodi, the open-source media center cannot compete with Plex. It requires more complex solutions to configure.
Kodi is available for iOS but requires the Xcode to use it on your Mac.
The installation difficulty between Plex and Kodi varies as most platform app stores do not offer the ability to download Kodi officially.
In fact, only Google Play offers the ability to install and update Kodi officially right now. You can check which devices are compatible right below:
| Platform | Plex | Kodi |
| Windows | Yes | Yes* |
| Mac | Yes | Yes* |
| iOS | Yes | Yes** |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Apple TV | Yes | Yes** |
| Android TV | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes * |
| Raspberry Pi | Yes | Yes* |
| Amazon Fire TV | Yes | Yes** |
| Roku | Yes | No |
| Smart TV | Yes | No |
| Web | Yes | No |
| PS4 | Yes | No |
| Xbox One | Yes | No |
* : Download via the Kodi website
** : Requires a complex solution to install
As we have seen in the article, despite the fact that both have similar functionality, both Plex and Kodi have big differences from each other. If you are looking for a simple media center that looks and works similar to Netflix, Plex should be your choice.
On the contrary, if you are a good computer user and if you have some knowledge and you want to use a more customizable app, Kodi is your solution with countless add-ons. In this article we compared Plex vs Kodi.
