Greenlight vs Linphone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Greenlight
Front-end for managing BigBlueButton meeting rooms
VS
Linphone
Open-source SIP voice, video, and messaging client
| Feature | Greenlight | Linphone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Chat & Communication |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 848 | ★ 500 |
| First released | 2016 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Google Meet | Skype, Zoom |
Why pick each one
Choose Greenlight if…
- Released under the LGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Ruby
Choose Linphone if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Greenlight or Linphone better?
Neither is universally better. Greenlight has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Greenlight and Linphone free and open-source?
Yes. Greenlight is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Linphone under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Greenlight and Linphone with Docker?
Greenlight: yes. Linphone: check the project docs for container support.