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
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
You get 100GB free "[ElfStorage][elfstorage]", but this won't be enough for any sort of media collection (other than perhaps books!) Pick one (or more) of the options below:
- Add more [ElfStorage][elfstorage] at $0.20/TB/day (so $6/TB)
- Buy a storagebox from Hetzner (sized at 1TB, 5TB, 10TB, and 20TB)
- Mount your existing (rclone-compatible) cloud storage
Populate your Plex Cloud
If you're using ElfStorage or a Storagebox, import any media you'd like per the migration instructions.
If you're attaching existing cloud storage, setup your Plex libraries to point to the correct location in /storage/
.
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, check out Funky Penguin's Geek Cookbook, specifically the Plex stack.
Reasons not to self-host Plex may include:
What now?
That's it, you're done. Hope into our friendly Discord server if you have questions or suggestions!