Plex introduces social features before increasing Lifetime Pass pricing

Plex has evolved considerably from its origins as a personal media server platform. Over recent years, the company has expanded into a broader entertainment destination, adding features such as ad-supported streaming content and movie rental services.

Now Plex is moving further into social entertainment discovery. On Wednesday, the company announced a collection of new social features designed to change how users engage with content and interact with one another on the platform.

One of the most prominent additions is Discussions, a new community forum feature that lets users comment on and discuss movies and television shows directly in Plex. With this launch, Plex appears to be creating a dedicated environment for entertainment-related conversations, potentially positioning itself as an alternative to platforms such as Reddit, which has long been a central destination for discussions about films and television programs.

According to the company, Discussions will be supported by a moderation system that combines artificial intelligence tools with human oversight to manage both written posts and visual content.

Plex is also introducing a new feature called Lists. The tool allows users to create, organise, and share collections of favourite movies and television series. In addition to traditional ratings, users can react to content with emojis and include images in their lists.

The company said additional capabilities will arrive later this year. These include support for importing lists from external platforms as well as the ability for users to react to and comment on lists created by friends. Similar list-building functionality is already available on entertainment-focused platforms such as Letterboxd and IMDb.

Another addition is Match Score, a recommendation feature that help users gauge how closely a particular title aligns with their viewing preferences. The feature analyses a user’s viewing history and rating activity to generate a percentage-based score indicating how likely they are to enjoy a specific movie or show.

“It looks at the things you watch and the way you rate them, and turns that into a simple percentage that tells you how closely a title lines up with what you tend to enjoy,” Plex co-founder and Chief Product Officer Scott Olechowski said. “The idea is to take the guesswork out of discovery, so instead of scrolling endlessly, you get a quick, personal read on whether something is likely to be for you.”

Plex is also rolling out Alerts, a notification system that informs users about activity connected to movies, television series, custom lists, and entertainment professionals they choose to follow.

The Lists feature is already available to all Plex users, while Discussions is expected to launch later this month. Other newly announced features will be introduced gradually throughout the remainder of the year.

According to Plex, the overall goal is to make content discovery more community-oriented by allowing users to exchange recommendations, compare opinions, and engage with others who share similar entertainment interests.

“People are spending more time figuring out what to watch than ever before, and we’re seeing that viewers are increasingly turning to friends, creators, and communities they trust for recommendations. Discovery has become a shared experience, and we think the products people use to find entertainment should reflect that,” Olechowski said.

The expansion comes as Plex operates within an increasingly competitive digital entertainment landscape. Streaming services and social platforms are both competing aggressively for user attention, leading many companies to blend content consumption with social engagement features.

Major streaming providers have also begun experimenting with similar strategies. Platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ have introduced short-form video experiences within their applications as part of broader efforts to encourage more frequent engagement and daily usage.

This is not the first time Plex has explored social networking features. In 2023, the company launched Discover Together, which enabled users to create profiles and follow their friends’ viewing activity. The following year, Plex expanded those efforts by introducing public user profiles and review functionality.

The timing of the latest announcement is also notable because it coincides with a substantial increase in the cost of Plex’s Lifetime Plex Pass subscription.

Beginning July 1, the Lifetime Plex Pass will be priced at $749.99. The increase has generated considerable discussion among users, particularly because the company raised the subscription price only last year, moving it from $119.99 to $249.99.

Despite the controversy surrounding the pricing change, Plex continues to maintain a large global user base. The company reports that it currently serves more than 42 million monthly active users across over 180 countries and territories.

With community forums, social recommendation tools, personalised discovery features, and expanded user interaction, Plex is strengthening its position beyond a streaming platform and becoming a destination where entertainment discovery and social engagement coexist.