BigBlueButton vs plugNmeet
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
plugNmeet
Scalable, open-source web conferencing system
| Feature | BigBlueButton | plugNmeet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 79 · Good |
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,225 | ★ 537 |
| First released | 2009 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Zoom, BigBlueButton |
What are BigBlueButton and plugNmeet?
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
plugNmeet
plugNmeet is a high-performance web conferencing platform built on LiveKit. It offers virtual classrooms, breakout rooms, polls, whiteboard, and recording for self-hosted online meetings.
- Built on LiveKit SFU
- Virtual classroom features
- Recording and RTMP broadcasting
- Breakout rooms and polls
BigBlueButton vs plugNmeet: key differences
BigBlueButton is written in JavaScript, while plugNmeet is built with Go. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for BigBlueButton versus MIT for plugNmeet. PlugNmeet is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. BigBlueButton is the more established project (first released 2009), while plugNmeet arrived in 2022. BigBlueButton has the considerably larger community, at 9,225 GitHub stars versus 537. PlugNmeet 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 plugNmeet if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Watch out for
- Multi-component deployment
- Requires LiveKit setup
Frequently asked questions
Is BigBlueButton or plugNmeet 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 plugNmeet free and open-source?
Yes. BigBlueButton is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and plugNmeet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BigBlueButton and plugNmeet with Docker?
BigBlueButton: check the project docs for container support. plugNmeet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, BigBlueButton or plugNmeet?
plugNmeet has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for BigBlueButton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.