BigBlueButton vs La Suite - 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
La Suite - Meet
Simple and Secure Video Conferencing
| Feature | BigBlueButton | La Suite - Meet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 200 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,225 | ★ 2,385 |
| First released | 2009 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | BigBlueButton, Jitsi, Microsoft Teams |
What are BigBlueButton and La Suite - 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
La Suite - Meet
Open source video conferencing app powered by LiveKit. Built with Django and React.
BigBlueButton vs La Suite - Meet: key differences
BigBlueButton is written in JavaScript, while La Suite - Meet is built with Python. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for BigBlueButton versus MIT for La Suite - Meet. La Suite - Meet is the lighter option, starting around 200 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. BigBlueButton is the more established project (first released 2009), while La Suite - Meet arrived in 2025. BigBlueButton has the considerably larger community, at 9,225 GitHub stars versus 2,385.
Why pick each one
Choose BigBlueButton if…
- Rich classroom features
- Integrates with LMS platforms
Watch out for
- Heavy resource requirements
- Ubuntu-specific installation
Choose La Suite - Meet if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 200 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or La Suite - Meet better?
Neither is universally better. BigBlueButton has the larger community, while La Suite - Meet is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BigBlueButton and La Suite - Meet free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and La Suite - Meet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and La Suite - Meet with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. La Suite - Meet: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BigBlueButton or La Suite - Meet?
La Suite - Meet has the smaller minimum footprint at 200 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.