Why the Plex companion ecosystem matters
The official Plex app is the front door, but most heavy users end up running three or four other apps alongside it. Server admin from your phone, dedicated music with Plexamp, a remote that controls every device on the network, a tracker that syncs what you’ve watched, a tool that tells you whether the next thing you want to watch is even on Plex.
The companion layer is also where the home-lab community has been most active. The XDA piece that surfaced Reclaimerr (cleanup unwatched media) and QuasiTV (turn your library into personalised live TV channels) is just the tip of an ecosystem that ranges from one-tap remotes to deep automation tools. Some of these are web-only and live on a NAS, some run on Android TV, and some are phone apps you install today.
Below are seven Plex companion apps for Android we think actually earn the home-screen space, sorted by how often you’ll open them.
What to look for in a Plex companion app
- Server-aware. Talks to your Plex server (or Tautulli/PMS) directly, not just streams from it.
- Offline-friendly. Works on your local network without round-tripping to plex.tv.
- Specific job. Does one thing better than the official app does it.
- Active development. Plex API changes and abandoned apps break fast.
- Phone-native. Designed for mobile, not a web wrapper.
Quick comparison table
| App | Best for | Pricing | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plex Dash | Server admin from phone | Free | Plex Pass-aware admin dashboard |
| Plexamp | Dedicated music | Plex Pass | Audiophile player for Plex music |
| Yatse | Universal remote | Free + paid unlocks | Plex/Kodi/Emby cast control |
| Trakt | Watch tracking | Free + VIP | Bidirectional history sync |
| Tautulli Remote | Stats and notifications | Free | Live transcoding stats |
| JustWatch | Discovery | Free with ads | Tells you what to add to Plex |
| Findroid | Hybrid Jellyfin client | Free, open-source | For users running both servers |
1. Plex Dash — best for server admin from your phone
Plex Dash is the official admin companion. It connects to any Plex Media Server you have access to and exposes the parts of the web admin that matter on a phone: live transcoding sessions, current activity, library scans, server resource usage, and user permissions. Restart a stalled scan, kick a freeloading account, or check why the kids’ streams keep buffering, all without opening a laptop.
The app does not stream content. That is what the main Plex app is for. Plex Dash is the equivalent of plugging a phone into your home server’s admin panel, and it is one of the few official “Plex Labs” projects that has graduated into a stable product.
It is free and bundled with the rest of the Plex ecosystem. You sign in with your plex.tv account and Dash discovers any servers tied to the account.
Bottom line: Pick this if you ever check on your Plex server from somewhere that is not the box itself.
2. Plexamp — best for music libraries
Plexamp is the audiophile-grade music client for Plex. It started as an internal Plex project and became one of the strongest mobile music players on Android, period. Gapless playback, loudness levelling, sweet fades, sonic analysis-based playlists (Library Radio, Mood Mix), and a download-for-offline workflow that beats the main Plex app.
The app requires Plex Pass (lifetime, yearly, or monthly). For users who already pay for Plex Pass, it is included. For users who do not, this is one of the few features that justifies the subscription on its own if you have a sizeable owned-music library.
For listening to music stored on a Plex server (not streaming from Spotify, just your own files), there is no competition on Android. The main Plex app’s music tab is functional; Plexamp is the one you’ll actually use.
Bottom line: Pick this if you have a music library on Plex and a Plex Pass.
3. Yatse — best universal remote
Yatse by Tolriq is the swiss army knife remote. It started as a Kodi remote and grew to control Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, and pretty much every chromecast-compatible target on the network. Browse your Plex library on the phone, push playback to a TV running Plex Media Player or Plex HTPC, and use the phone as a touch remote for the playing TV.
The free tier covers basic remote control. The paid Unlocker (one-time purchase) opens up casting from the device to the TV, voice commands, customizable widgets, lock-screen integration, and the queue-and-shuffle features. The Unlocker price is modest for a tool you’ll use every evening.
What makes Yatse the standout in this category is reach. If your living room has a Plex client on Apple TV, an Nvidia Shield in the bedroom, and a Kodi box in the basement, Yatse controls all three from one app.
Bottom line: Pick this if you have multiple media devices and want one remote that controls all of them.
4. Trakt — best for watch history
Trakt is the third-party watch history that Plex has never had a strong native answer to. The app keeps a record of every episode and movie you have ever watched, syncs that history bidirectionally with Plex (via the Trakt for Plex plugin running on your server), and exposes the data through a clean Android client.
The reason this matters is recommendations and stats. Trakt knows what you’ve actually finished, what you’ve abandoned, and what you’ve put on a watchlist. The recommendations are better than Plex’s, and the stats (year-end “you watched 42 days of TV” reports) are addictive.
VIP membership unlocks ad-free use, deeper stats, and priority sync. The free tier is enough to use the service. The plugin running on your Plex server is open-source and the standard install path through Tautulli or directly into Plex’s plugin folder.
Bottom line: Pick this if you want a real watch history and stats Plex itself does not provide.
5. Tautulli Remote — best for live server stats
Tautulli Remote is the phone client for Tautulli, the third-party Plex monitoring tool that home-lab users run alongside the server. Tautulli (the desktop side) tracks every play, every transcoding session, every user on every device. The Android app surfaces those stats: current sessions, activity heatmap, top users, top media, push notifications when someone starts a stream.
The free Android client is open-source and connects to a Tautulli server you have already deployed. If you have not, this is a Tautulli companion specifically; the server piece is a separate install.
For server admins who care about how their library is being used, this is the only Android-native interface to Tautulli. The web dashboard is fine; the Android app is faster for “is the server up right now” check-ins.
Bottom line: Pick this if you already run Tautulli alongside Plex and want the dashboard on your phone.
6. JustWatch — best for discovery
JustWatch answers the question “is this on a service I subscribe to?” before you go through the work of finding a copy. The Android app indexes every major streaming service and lets you search by title, browse by category, or build a watchlist. Match it against your Plex inventory mentally, and you have a “what’s worth adding” list every time you sit down.
It does not directly integrate with Plex. The connection is workflow: discovery happens in JustWatch, sourcing happens in your Plex pipeline, watching happens in Plex. The free tier with ads covers most use; the ad-free tier is a small monthly subscription.
For users who keep one foot in mainstream streaming and one in self-hosted, JustWatch is the sanity check that prevents adding something to your library that’s already free on a service you’re already paying for.
Bottom line: Pick this if you mix streaming subscriptions with a Plex library and want one source of truth for “where can I watch this”.
7. Findroid — best for hybrid Jellyfin setups
Findroid is the open-source Jellyfin client a lot of Plex users have started keeping installed alongside the main Plex app. The reason is hybrid setups: Plex for the family-friendly content the household shares, Jellyfin for everything else, with both servers running on the same box. Findroid is the cleanest Android client for the Jellyfin half.
The interface is closer to the modern Plex Mobile UI than Jellyfin’s official client, with a horizontally-scrolling library, downloaded-content tab, and continue-watching rows. It is fully open-source, free of any subscription, and available on F-Droid for users who avoid Play Services.
If you have committed to Plex and only Plex, you don’t need this. If you have started putting some content behind a Jellyfin server (often DRM-free or community-flagged content), Findroid is the companion that handles the second server cleanly.
Bottom line: Pick this if your home lab runs both Plex and Jellyfin, and you want a clean Android client for the Jellyfin side.
How to pick the right ones
Most Plex households end up running two to three of these alongside the main app. The minimum viable companion stack is:
- Plex Dash (so you can fix things from the couch)
- Plexamp if you have a music library and a Plex Pass
- Yatse if you have more than one Plex playback device
The optional next layer is Trakt for users who care about watch history and Tautulli Remote for users who care about who’s hammering the server. JustWatch lives outside the Plex stack but is the most useful adjacent app. Findroid is for users who already run Jellyfin alongside Plex.
Beyond Android: the web-only companions worth knowing
Some of the best Plex add-ons don’t have an Android app at all. They run on your server or a NAS and you administer them through a browser:
- Tautulli itself, for full statistics and notifications.
- Reclaimerr, the XDA-featured library cleanup tool that flags unwatched and stale content.
- Overseerr / Jellyseerr, for request workflows when family asks for content.
- Sonarr / Radarr / Bazarr, the Arr automation stack for download and subtitle management.
- QuasiTV, the Android TV app that turns Plex libraries into personalised live TV channels.
Most of these have web admin panels you can bookmark on a phone, but they are not in the Android-app category and don’t compete for app-store space.
FAQ
What is the best Plex remote app for Android?
Yatse. It controls Plex, Kodi, Emby, and Jellyfin from one interface, and the free tier covers basic remote control. The paid Unlocker is a one-time purchase that adds casting, voice commands, and queue management.
Is Plexamp free?
Plexamp itself is free to download, but it requires a Plex Pass to use. Plex Pass is sold as a monthly, annual, or lifetime subscription. If you already have a Plex Pass for transcoding or DVR features, Plexamp is included.
Can I admin my Plex server from my phone?
Yes. Plex Dash is the official admin companion app and exposes most of the Plex web admin panel: active sessions, user permissions, library scans, server stats. It does not stream content; the main Plex app does that.
What does Reclaimerr do that the Plex app does not?
Reclaimerr is a third-party web-based tool that scans your Plex library, identifies stale or unwatched content, and helps clean it up. The Plex app itself does not surface “haven’t watched this in 18 months” reports. Reclaimerr runs on your server and is administered from a browser, not Android.
Does Trakt sync with Plex automatically?
Yes, with the Trakt for Plex plugin running on your Plex Media Server. The plugin watches Plex’s API for play and stop events and writes to your Trakt account in real time. Setup is one-time; sync is automatic from then on.
