All that said, neither service can technically be called free, as both still require you to purchase a Synology NAS. Whereas Synology Video Station is an application that is included with your NAS on Day 1 at no additional cost. Important – ‘Free’ Vs Paid Media Server Services on a NASīefore going any further, it is worth addressing the elephant in the room, namely that a number of key media server services that are included with Plex Media Server are locked behind a paid subscription service known as Plex Pass. So today I want to compare these two media server choices and help you decide which one is the ideal media server choice for you. Synology on the other hand would likely prefer users to stick with their own fully-featured media server application, Synology Video Station, which they have invested well in and developed to an impressive standard that easily rivals that of Plex. The most popular private media server app right now worldwide to counter the likes of Netflix is Plex Media Server, software available in host and client form that allows you to transform your media collection into a glossy, slick and informative UI that genuinely rivals big online streaming platforms.

So now that a lot of users are choosing to switch from the likes of Netflix and Prime Video towards an in-house media server, the next question is which piece of software they should choose. This combined with the oversaturation of third-party online streaming services that ask you to pay a subscription (such as Netflix) with little control or right to ownership of the media you watch means that many users just want to enjoy their own unique media collections. The most popular NAS for home media tends to be Synology, with its support of numerous media server applications and its own premium video service app too. Despite this, streaming all of your multimedia from a NAS to all of your TVs, phones, tablets and other devices are growing increasingly popular and a lot of this is thanks to the increasing affordability of NAS from brands like Synology and QNAP and free software from companies like Plex and Emby.

With most users now owning decades of media (either in digital form or ripped from optical media at home), the ability to enjoy these box sets and Movies on the latest devices can be complicated. One of the most popular reasons that users choose to buy a network-attached storage (NAS) device is for use as a media server.

Plex Vs Synology Video Station on a NAS in 2021/2022

Plex media server synology nas