4 Plex companion apps that take my media server to the next level

Published Sep 11, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT Based in rural Minnesota, Brian Burgess worked in IT for 10 years before finding his passion for writing about consumer technology. Brian earned his degree in computer and network technology in 2000. He held various IT positions, including help desk support, router installations for IBM, database administration, and other associate network administration roles. He's been a personal technology journalist for 18 years and has written thousands of articles about Microsoft products and services, Android, iOS, streaming, and more. He has written for notable tech sites including XDA, InformationWeek, How-To Geek, Byte, groovyPost, and others. When he is away from the keyboard, you will hear him playing guitar, working outdoors, and watching Star Trek. When it comes to self-hosted media, Plex is where many people start, since it's straightforward to set up and use. A lot of people are familiar with music companion Plexamp, but may not know about other apps that can enhance their media experience. Jellyfin users know of the vast array of plugins, clients, and apps available, and testing them out is fun. However, several apps for your Plex server can improve the overall experience in fun, unique ways. Infuse A slick UI for Plex on Apple devices When you watch Plex content with the default client on Apple TV and other devices, it's not the slickest UI for Apple's platform. Instead, you can use Infuse to add the content on your Plex server to a higher-end video player. Infuse is a media player meant for all Apple products, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. It supports a wide range of video file types that may require server-side transcoding, which can increase the server's workload. It's a perfect companion app for Apple device users. Not only can you enjoy Plex content on a slicker video player interface, but you can also add local files and connect to other self-hosting media platforms, including Jellyfin and Emby. You can then see most of your media in one central location without relying on individual clients. It's a slick app and makes it easy to connect your Plex server to the app on all Apple devices. It also provides everything you'd expect from a client, from chapter support to a range of video playback controls, and more. Infuse Plezy Access paywalled features A lot has been said about the irritation Plex users feel over the company putting features behind Plex Pass. Some people have stopped using Plex and switched to Jellyfin or Emby or purchased a lifetime subscription to Pass. Another option is the open-source, cross-platform alternative app Plezy. It provides a Plex-like experience on your devices and includes many features that are behind Plex Pass or missing from regular Plex. Plezy also does things vanilla Plex can't. Plezy gives you access to the recently paywalled Watch Party feature and offline downloads, which you can set to delete automatically once watched. It also provides credit and intro skipping, which no one who hosts their own media should pay for. Plus, for good measure, it includes broader codec support to help ease the server's workload and variable-speed playback in the player controls. It also has a ton of settings, so you can tweak Plezy to fit your media needs specifically on a per-device basis. Plezy QuasiTV Turn your library into a streaming TV guide Are you tired of scrolling endlessly through your Plex media library for something to watch? The QuasiTV app turns your Plex media library into a TV guide. Just like you used to on cable or still do on free live-streaming services like Pluto TV or The Roku Channel. But this isn't for random FAST streaming channels; it's a listing guide for the titles in your Plex library. It also works with Jellyfin and Emby servers. Your library layout isn't the unique thing here. Shows and movies are scheduled when they're available. It's a great option when I can't decide what to watch. It is a free app available for Android TV from the Play Store and Fire TV via the Amazon Appstore — there's no sideloading necessary. QuasiTV is straightforward to set up, and once you connect to your Plex server, you'll have an instant old-school menu system to channel surf your self-hosted media. QuasiTV Tautulli Find out more about your Plex server This app is for self-hosting media enthusiasts who want the nerdy stats about their server that Plex doesn't show so that they can fix problems. Tautulli shows more server activity details than the Plex dashboard displays. It lets me see detailed logs to track usage and monitor server activity. It helps me troubleshoot buffering and other playback issues. The app works on mobile and desktop, so I can monitor what the server is doing from virtually anywhere. It shows important items like user activity logs — timestamps, time logged on, etc. It also shows media file playback details, bandwidth usage, server analytics, and other advanced information. Another helpful feature is seeing if Direct Play works across multiple devices for a file. Tautulli is a must-have companion app if you are serious about administering your server. Tautulli Jellyfin gets companion app praise, but Plex has them too Jellyfin gets a lot of support thanks to the sheer number of companion plugins, apps, and clients available for your media. However, Plex has been around longer and also has some must-have companion apps that make managing your media easier. From server monitoring to alternative playback apps and more, you'll likely find something you want to add to your Plex setup.