BigBlueButton vs Jangouts
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
Jangouts
Videoconferencing based on WebRTC and Janus Gateway with an UI
| Feature | BigBlueButton | Jangouts |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,182 | ★ 444 |
| First released | 2009 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Google Hangouts, Skype |
Why pick each one
Choose Jangouts if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or Jangouts better?
Neither is universally better. BigBlueButton has the larger community, while Jangouts is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BigBlueButton and Jangouts free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Jangouts under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and Jangouts with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. Jangouts: check the project docs for container support.