Plexamp
Hacker ApprovedRanked 9 of 38 music players by recommenders
Music player valued for discovery in large libraries and smooth Plex server use. Main caveat: it costs money, and critics call the price too high.
Music player valued for discovery in large libraries and smooth Plex server use. Main caveat: it costs money, and critics call the price too high.
36 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works with Plex server library
“Then I can drop Plexamp on my phone, log in with my Plex account and all my music is right there”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer” “I currently use Plexamp (via Plex) to listen to it because the system works well”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 on Hacker News “Switching completely to Plex + PlexAmp + Bandcamp + iTunes purchased music”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Disney Raising Prices Days After Confirming Ads Will Now Show Up on Every Tier” - Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line”
- Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Jellyfin 12.0”
- Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How to go back to listening to MP3s?”
- Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Jellyfin 12.0”
Surfaces forgotten music in big collections
“PlexAmp's "discovery" helps me to navigate through that large library to find and re-experience stuff I'd forgotten about or overlooked.”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” “I'm pretty sure that PlexAmp, backed by Plex Media Server, is the pinnacle of music discovery”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” “it uncovers a lot of good music that I haven't heard before out of my large collection”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “The lost joy of music piracy” Good offline mode and caching
“it's been the most successful "native" experience across mobile/linux that just works”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “The state of Linux music players in 2026” “I also really like how easy the caching and offline mode is”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Jellyfin 12.0” “a really good music app for phones”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Plex's price hikes prove I was right to switch to Jellyfin” Few rivals match its features
“Feels like it's the only music client around these days that has a functional "shuffle by album" option”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Jellyfin 12.0” “Plexamp is still head and shoulders above anything comparable on the jellyfin side.”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Jellyfin founder Andrew leaves team”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Paid subscription, price seen as high
“I also use it and like it quite a bit. But it's paid only, and doesn't seem quite like what the author is looking for”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “macOS Music Players” “There is nothing better plexamp but unfortunately after plex raised their prices it might not be worth it for most”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Fastpotify” “PlexAmp is great although not worth anywhere close to $750.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Spotify Will Start Reserving Concert Tickets for Fans” - Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Spotify Will Start Reserving Concert Tickets for Fans”
- Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “Why media fans want to escape algorithms with CDs, DVDs and vinyl”
- Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Spotify Will Start Reserving Concert Tickets for Fans”
- Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “The Corporate Creep of Plex: Why it may be time to move to Jellyfin”
Weak fit with iOS and Mac
“doesn't play well with the iOS ecosystem”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer” “the PlexAmp iOS app is good but meh”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Jellyfin LLM/"AI" Development Policy” “its Mac app is just like a scrolling webpage”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “Building a TUI is easy now”
Other music players people recommend
The four most recommended other music players, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLC media player | 172 | 83 | 67% | 12 | 20 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| mpv media player | 82 | 12 | 87% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Infuse video player | 78 | 11 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Kodi | 64 | 38 | 63% | 12 | 15 yrs3 owners | — |
| PlexampThis page | 31 | 5 | 86% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
39 of the 43 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Switching completely to Plex + PlexAmp + Bandcamp + iTunes purchased music”
“since I really like Plexamp”
“Plexamp works fine with Siri on my phone.”
“PlexAmp is a good experience too, but not free.”
“TFW Plex lifetime and plexamp for $75.”
“I love plexamp for the android auto support.”
“I also really like how easy the caching and offline mode is”
“nothing else seems capable of properly handling playback by folder structure”
“For now, I am happy on plex/plexamp.”
“Feels like it's the only music client around these days that has a functional "shuffle by album" option”
“plex and plexamp is very simple and plug and play”
“Plex + Plexamp is really, really, really good for listening.”
“I can never give up plexamp”
“There is nothing better plexamp but unfortunately after plex raised their prices it might not be worth it for most”
“Plexamp is not perfect and not open source unfortunately, but it's a really good non-enshitified product.”
“as part of the Plex Pass I'm happy enough”
“they have to pay a licence and rather save $100 per month by inconveniencing their user base”
“Plexamp is still head and shoulders above anything comparable on the jellyfin side.”
“it uncovers a lot of good music that I haven't heard before out of my large collection”
“PlexAmp is great although not worth anywhere close to $750.”
“There is so much good free software out there for playing music that I have a hard time believing PlexAmp is worth $750.”
“It's good, but you still have to pay monthly for it.”
“I feel like I've rediscovered my joy for music again.”
“a really good music app for phones”
“Try to listen to music with Plexamp.”
“I've stopped using PlexAmp and Spotify entirely”
“its Mac app is just like a scrolling webpage”
“the PlexAmp iOS app is good but meh”
“it's been the most successful "native" experience across mobile/linux that just works”
“Plexamp is an ode to Winamp and is worth it alone.”
“Plex + Plexamp for my mostly FLAC private collection”
“get true usefulness out of trackers... pretty seamless "personal Spotify" setup”
“I also use it and like it quite a bit. But it's paid only, and doesn't seem quite like what the author is looking for”
“doesn't play well with the iOS ecosystem”
“Then I can drop Plexamp on my phone, log in with my Plex account and all my music is right there”
“PlexAmp's "discovery" helps me to navigate through that large library to find and re-experience stuff I'd forgotten about or overlooked.”
“I'm pretty sure that PlexAmp, backed by Plex Media Server, is the pinnacle of music discovery”
“I do it similar to you, except that I use PlexAmp for my music.”
“I currently use Plexamp (via Plex) to listen to it because the system works well”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.