BigBlueButton vs Jigasi
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video conferencing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
BigBlueButton
Virtual classroom and web conferencing for education
VS
Jigasi
SIP gateway and transcription bridge for Jitsi
| Feature | BigBlueButton | Jigasi |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,182 | ★ 609 |
| First released | 2009 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Zoom Phone |
Why pick each one
Choose Jigasi if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or Jigasi better?
Neither is universally better. BigBlueButton has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BigBlueButton and Jigasi free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Jigasi under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and Jigasi with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. Jigasi: yes.