Plex has come on in leaps and bounds as a go-to platform for those looking to cut the cord. With a rich and diverse feature set, Plex is ideal for streaming various forms of media across a wide range of devices.

With so many features to take in, let's take a look at some of the finer points of this comprehensive multimedia platform.

What Is Plex?

In case you're not familiar with Plex, it is best described as an all-in-one media streaming and organizing application.

It is a powerful platform that allows you to watch movies, play games, listen to music and podcasts, and you can even watch live TV with it.

Not only that; it also allows you to organize your media library as you would like it, then play it from pretty much any streaming device device, anywhere with access to the internet.

Plex, mostly, is free. There are paid subscriptions like Plex Pass, which costs $4.99 per month, $39.99 for an annual pass, and you can even get a lifetime pass, which costs only $129.99.

Plex is available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and a wide range of consoles, including the PS5, Xbox Series X and the Atari VCS.

So, now you know what Plex is, in a nutshell, lets move on to some of its best features.

1. Plex Pass Is Great...

We've just mentioned Plex Pass, but it really is one of the best features of the platform, as long as you're a regular Plex user. It only costs $4.99 per month, yet it opens the app right up for you, offering an expanded feature set.

With Plex Pass, you can sync your media with your mobile devices for offline listening or watching. Essentially, you can download music from your server to your device, and then play it literally anywhere, even without an internet connection. Note, though, that this will be at the expense of your device's storage.

You can watch and record live TV broadcasts in the app, for free, as long as the device you are watching it through has an antenna and tuner attached to it. This includes any local news and sports.

If you're looking to stream music from another platform, owning a Plex Pass can net you a discount on your Tidal subscription, too. Given that Tidal is pretty expensive, a couple of dollars off is welcome in anyone's book.

2. ... But You Can Get Most of Plex for Free

You'll notice we said Plex Pass was great for people who use it regularly. If you're more of a casual media consumer, but you still want somewhere to collect your media together, then what do you do? You possibly don't need a Plex Pass.

Well, you don't need a Plex Pass, actually. Plex remains resolutely proud that most of its features are available without a subscription. So you can still use it as a media server, listen to music, or watch movies and TV shows. You just need to pay a one-time fee of $5 per device you link to the free account.

3. Plex Media Library Organization

Having an expansive media library can have its pros and cons. Obviously, you have access to a massive range of music or movies, but keeping all of that organized can be a nightmare.

Thankfully, Plex does most of the hard work for you. You just need to point it towards your media server and let the app handle the rest. It will add everything to your music or movie library, complete with song names, artists, artwork (where available), and even lyrics in some cases.

When you set Plex up, it will run a scan of all the directories you specify. Then, when you've launched the Plex Media Server app, you'll find all of your media neatly organized in one place.

4. Plex Works With a Wide Range of Devices

Now you've got your library organized, you're free to access it on pretty much any device, as long as you can get Plex client on said device. So, you can access your beautifully arranged media library via your mobile, game console, laptop, tablet, Android TV.

You name it, you can probably get Plex on it. Unless you name a Nintendo Switch, in which case you're just being awkward because Plex has never officially made it to Nintendo's devices despite the Plex/Switch community requesting it on many occasions.

So, unless the only tech in your entire home is a Nintendo Switch, you should have a device you can run the Plex client on.

5. Free Movies and TV With Plex

We can't think of a single person who would complain at the thought of getting free movies and TV series. So the fact that Plex offers these things for both its free and paid subscribers is a massive boon for anyone who uses the platform.

While the best channel is undoubtedly Wu Tang Collection, which runs back-to-back Kung Fu flicks all day, every day, there is plenty for everyone, including IGN TV, Fail Army (is laughing at failing still a thing?), and kids TV. There's even DrinkTV, which is about... drinks... and Cooking Panda if you fancy getting busy with some new ideas in the kitchen.

Movie-wise, you can also get a wide range of content. Plex splits the movies into categories so you can quickly find the genre of film you're looking for without any difficulty. You're unlikely to find the latest triple AAA blockbuster here, but it has LOADS of great content (the horror section is good).

Don't forget that if you have Plex Pass, you can access all of your local TV channels as well, including news and sports. You will still need a tuner and an aerial for those, though. If you don't have either of these, you can buy them easily, but be aware that you might be best off with an indoor aerial.

Now You Know Some of Plex's Best Features!

Plex really is an excellent platform and there is very little to complain about. It is free for everyone at its base level, and any subscriptions that exist pay for the service to develop.

This isn't a case of a company trying to make money unscrupulously; it is a case of Plex becoming an even more impressive application and one which many more people will flock to as the feature set gets even richer. It can only do that with the aid of subscriptions and one-off fees.