BigBlueButton vs Jitsi Videobridge
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 Videobridge
Scalable WebRTC-compatible video routing engine
| Feature | BigBlueButton | Jitsi Videobridge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,227 | ★ 3,105 |
| First released | 2009 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Zoom, Twilio |
What are BigBlueButton and Jitsi Videobridge?
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 Videobridge
Jitsi Videobridge is the selective forwarding unit that routes video streams for Jitsi-based conferences. It can be deployed independently to power scalable WebRTC video applications.
- Selective forwarding unit for video
- Scales to many participants
- WebRTC compatible
- Powers Jitsi Meet
BigBlueButton vs Jitsi Videobridge: key differences
BigBlueButton is written in JavaScript, while Jitsi Videobridge is built with Kotlin. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for BigBlueButton versus Apache-2.0 for Jitsi Videobridge. Jitsi Videobridge is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. BigBlueButton is the more established project (first released 2009), while Jitsi Videobridge arrived in 2013. BigBlueButton has the considerably larger community, at 9,227 GitHub stars versus 3,105. Jitsi Videobridge 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 Videobridge if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Kotlin
Watch out for
- Component of a larger stack
- Complex to tune
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or Jitsi Videobridge 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 Jitsi Videobridge free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Jitsi Videobridge under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and Jitsi Videobridge with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. Jitsi Videobridge: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, BigBlueButton or Jitsi Videobridge?
Jitsi Videobridge has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.