Lol, I'm the server owner, so I am expected to pay to allow multiple accounts. Which is my exact complaint.
I had issue with offline usage, and found, with time, it only got worse. My lan clients eventually stopped showing my server unless I logged into my Plex account first. Maybe things changed since, my experience, Plex became overly dependant on a connection to their servers.
To little to late, I've since moved to Jellyfin, which solved my frustrations. I have no interest in moving back to Plex.
Plex also uses token based login that expires after 48hours, if you don't have an active internet connection
A quick look, it seems hardware transcoding is locked behind Plex pass...
Steam is a private company, not publicly traded and has no VC funding.
VC funding and potential IPO normally means enshittification is inevitable, as they will eventually need to make insane profits by turning the screws on its users, as their business model wasn't self sustaining.