coturn vs mediasoup
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?
coturn
Open-source TURN and STUN server for WebRTC
VS
mediasoup
Cutting-edge WebRTC SFU library for Node.js
| Feature | coturn | mediasoup |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | ISC |
| Language | C | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,274 | ★ 7,325 |
| First released | 2012 | 2016 |
| Replaces | — | Twilio Video |
Why pick each one
Choose coturn if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14.3k GitHub stars
- Written in C
Choose mediasoup if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Mature project with 7.3k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is coturn or mediasoup better?
coturn is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider mediasoup if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are coturn and mediasoup free and open-source?
Yes. coturn is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and mediasoup under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run coturn and mediasoup with Docker?
coturn: yes. mediasoup: check the project docs for container support.