For the longest time, Plex has offered a one-and-done Lifetime Plex Pass purchase option for streaming-based access to its catalog of movies and television shows. This upfront cost of $250 USD has served as an alternative to the company’s recurring subscription payment model, providing users with some much-appreciated flexibility that many other streamers simply lack.

Now, however, Plex is hiking the price of its Lifetime Pass from $250 all the way up to $750 — a massive jump of $500 USD, which equates to a 200% increase in cost. According to the company, this price increase is set to take effect as of July 1 of this year at 12:01 AM UTC (4:01 AM PST / 7:01 PM EST).

“We’ve considered eliminating the Lifetime Plex Pass in the past, given that recurring subscriptions help us sustain long-term development, but we know it’s still a valuable option for many in our community. So instead of retiring it, we’re keeping it available at a price that reflects the real, ongoing value of the software we’re committed to building and maintaining for years to come,” says Plex in a press release.

In this same press release, Plex goes on to share elements of its upcoming service improvement roadmap, which includes improvements to its Downloads feature, support for Playlist creation and editing on mobile, support for NFO metadata and the IPv6 internet protocol, audio enhancements, among other future additions and enhancements.

notable shows

Broadchurch, The Kids in the Hall, The Fall

notable movies

Warrior, A Walk to Remember, Heat, Halloween

Premium Subscription

No

Originals

No

Live TV

250+ channels

Nothing is changing for existing Lifetime Plex Pass holders

Plex is giving prospective purchasers advance notice of this price hike

Putting aside the obvious sticker shock, the silver lining in Plex’s Lifetime Pass price hike is that there’s advance notice being given to prospective buyers. If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing lifetime access to the streaming service, now is about as good a time as there’ll probably ever be to pull the trigger.

Thankfully, Plex has confirmed that existing Lifetime Plex Pass holders will be unaffected by this price change. Monthly and annual subscription pricing for Plex Pass and Remote Watch Pass also remains unchanged at this time. Of course, these latter subscriptions could be subject to price hikes of their own at any moment, as has been the case in the past.

It’s unfortunate to see the Lifetime Plex Pass offering be bumped up in price to such a great extent in one fell swoop, but I’m happy to see the option for a single-time purchase remain accessible on the whole. With the cost of streaming services soaring to new highs, Plex’s lifetime SKU remains an appreciated option to have at the disposal, higher entry fee notwithstanding.