eturnal vs OpenVidu
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?
eturnal
STUN and TURN server for real-time applications
VS
OpenVidu
Self-hosted platform for real-time video applications
| Feature | eturnal | OpenVidu |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Erlang | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, kubernetes, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 340 | ★ 2,123 |
| First released | 2020 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Twilio STUN/TURN | Twilio Video, Agora |
Why pick each one
Choose eturnal if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Erlang
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose OpenVidu if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is eturnal or OpenVidu better?
Neither is universally better. OpenVidu has the larger community, while eturnal is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are eturnal and OpenVidu free and open-source?
Yes. eturnal is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenVidu under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run eturnal and OpenVidu with Docker?
eturnal: yes. OpenVidu: yes.