Is 32GB of RAM overkill for a typical Plex server?

Yes, for a typical home server running Plex and a handful of Docker containers, 32GB is more than you need. Plex itself barely touches RAM unless you’re doing heavy live transcoding, and 16GB is comfortable for a dozen services like Sonarr, Radarr, Home Assistant, and a database or two. 32GB only makes sense if you’re running multiple VMs, a heavily queried media database, or hosting for a dozen concurrent 4K transcodes. Spend the extra cash on storage or a better CPU instead.