Jitsi Videobridge vs Janus
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?
Jitsi Videobridge
Scalable WebRTC-compatible video routing engine
VS
Janus
General-purpose, lightweight, minimalist WebRTC Server
| Feature | Jitsi Videobridge | Janus |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Kotlin | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,093 | ★ 9,144 |
| First released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Twilio | — |
Why pick each one
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
Choose Janus if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in C
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Jitsi Videobridge or Janus better?
Janus is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Jitsi Videobridge if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Jitsi Videobridge and Janus free and open-source?
Yes. Jitsi Videobridge is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Janus under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Jitsi Videobridge and Janus with Docker?
Jitsi Videobridge: yes. Janus: check the project docs for container support.