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.
Not the right match-up?
BigBlueButton
Virtual classroom and web conferencing for education
VS
plugNmeet
Scalable, open-source web conferencing system
| Feature | BigBlueButton | plugNmeet |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 9,182 | ★ 518 |
| First released | 2009 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Zoom, BigBlueButton |
Why pick each one
Choose plugNmeet if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
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.