BigBlueButton vs Jitsi Meet
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video conferencing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
BigBlueButton
Virtual classroom and web conferencing for education
VS
Jitsi Meet
Secure, fully featured video conferencing
| Feature | BigBlueButton | Jitsi Meet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,225 | ★ 29,968 |
| First released | 2009 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Zoom, Google Meet |
What are BigBlueButton and Jitsi Meet?
BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton is an open-source web conferencing system built specifically for online learning. It provides real-time sharing of audio, video, slides, whiteboard, and screen, plus breakout rooms and polling.
- Designed for online teaching
- Interactive whiteboard and polls
- Breakout rooms
- Session recording and playback
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet is an open-source video conferencing solution that runs in the browser with no account required. It targets users and teams wanting self-hosted video calls. It is deployed via Docker.
- Browser-based video calls
- No account needed
- Screen sharing and recording
- Scalable with extra components
BigBlueButton vs Jitsi Meet: key differences
BigBlueButton is written in JavaScript, while Jitsi Meet is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for BigBlueButton versus Apache-2.0 for Jitsi Meet. Jitsi Meet is the lighter option, starting around 4,096 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. BigBlueButton is the more established project (first released 2009), while Jitsi Meet arrived in 2013. Jitsi Meet has the considerably larger community, at 29,968 GitHub stars versus 9,225. Jitsi Meet lists first-class Docker deployment; BigBlueButton does not.
Why pick each one
Choose BigBlueButton if…
- Rich classroom features
- Integrates with LMS platforms
Watch out for
- Heavy resource requirements
- Ubuntu-specific installation
Choose Jitsi Meet if…
- No account required
- Good call quality
- Open source
Watch out for
- Scaling needs tuning
- Many moving components
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or Jitsi Meet better?
Neither is universally better. Jitsi Meet has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BigBlueButton and Jitsi Meet free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Jitsi Meet under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and Jitsi Meet with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. Jitsi Meet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, BigBlueButton or Jitsi Meet?
Jitsi Meet has the smaller minimum footprint at 4,096 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.