BigBlueButton vs Galène
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?
BigBlueButton
Virtual classroom and web conferencing for education
VS
Galène
Lightweight videoconferencing server
| Feature | BigBlueButton | Galène |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Chat & Communication |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,182 | ★ 1,372 |
| First released | 2009 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Zoom, Google Meet |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or Galène better?
Neither is universally better. BigBlueButton has the larger community, while Galène is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BigBlueButton and Galène free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Galène under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and Galène with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. Galène: yes.