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How to Setup your own Plex Cloud

Once upon a time, Plex provided "Plex Cloud", a partnership with Amazon which would let you run your Plex server "in the cloud", and attach various cloud storage providers for storing your vast media libraries.

The Plex Cloud service was shut down due to technical / cost issues, but given the popularity of online streaming platforms, a "cloud based" Plex instance is still an attractive solution for many users who don't want to bother with self-hosting their Plex server or their media.

ElfHosted provides all the hosting and options to setup your own hosted Plex instance (your Plex Cloud), and stream your media from cloud storage, creating your own "Plex Google Drive", "Plex Onedrive", etc.

Requirements

  • A VPN provider (since Plex blocked all of Hetzner in Oct 2023 due to abuse). Private Internet Access (referral link) often has deals for as low as $2/month.
  • Existing rclone-compatible cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, a Hetzner Storage Box, etc.).
  • Optionally, a PlexPass account, which will let you take advantage of hardware transcoding if you're unable to DirectPlay your media.

Setup Plex Cloud

Create account

Sign up for an account

Add Plex with VPN

Subscribe to Plex using your chosen VPN provider, and claim your new Plex instance using ElfBot.

Your Plex Cloud URL will be https://<your username>-plex.elfhosted.com.

Attach cloud storage to Plex

ElfHosted hosts the Plex app; the library lives on bring-your-own storage. Pick one (or more) of the options below:

  1. Order a Hetzner Storage Box (sized at 1TB, 5TB, 10TB, or 20TB) and rclone-mount it. Falkenstein-region Storage Boxes get the best latency to ElfHosted.
  2. Mount an existing rclone-compatible cloud (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.).
  3. Use Real-Debrid or Usenet via NzbDAV as your "library", so streams resolve on-demand without filling up cloud storage.

Populate your Plex Cloud

If you're using rclone-mounted cloud storage, move your existing media in via WebDAV or directly through the storage provider's tools. See the migration guide for the broader move-from-home-server flow.

If you're using Real-Debrid or Usenet, the library is already there: connect the credentials and your streams are immediately available.

Configure Plex libraries to point to /storage/... (the exact path depends on which storage option you picked).

Enjoy your own Plex Cloud!

That's it! Enjoy using your new Plex Cloud to stream your media to yourself and your friends and family, without the hassle of local hosting or storage management!

Why not just self-host Plex?

Self-hosting is a fun and rewarding way to have complete control over your applications and content. If you're into self-hosting, there are excellent community resources available for setting up Plex and other media servers.

Reasons not to self-host Plex may include:

  • You want to avoid the hardware / power costs involved
  • You want more reliability / uptime for your Plex server, while your self-hosting / homelab is for tinkering
  • You want media streaming to just work (we manage app updates, hardware, connectivity, security, etc.)

What now?

That's it, you're done. Hope into our friendly Discord server if you have questions or suggestions!