Jitsi Meet vs plugNmeet
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video conferencing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Jitsi Meet
Secure, fully featured video conferencing
VS
plugNmeet
Scalable, open-source web conferencing system
| Feature | Jitsi Meet | plugNmeet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 29,977 | ★ 540 |
| First released | 2013 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Google Meet | Zoom, BigBlueButton |
What are Jitsi Meet and plugNmeet?
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet is an open-source video conferencing solution that runs in the browser with no account required. It targets users and teams wanting self-hosted video calls. It is deployed via Docker.
- Browser-based video calls
- No account needed
- Screen sharing and recording
- Scalable with extra components
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
Jitsi Meet vs plugNmeet: key differences
Jitsi Meet is written in TypeScript, while plugNmeet is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Jitsi Meet versus MIT for plugNmeet. PlugNmeet is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Jitsi Meet. Jitsi Meet is the more established project (first released 2013), while plugNmeet arrived in 2022. Jitsi Meet has the considerably larger community, at 29,977 GitHub stars versus 540.
Why pick each one
Choose Jitsi Meet if…
- No account required
- Good call quality
- Open source
Watch out for
- Scaling needs tuning
- Many moving components
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 Jitsi Meet or plugNmeet better?
Neither is universally better. Jitsi Meet has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Jitsi Meet and plugNmeet free and open-source?
Yes. Jitsi Meet is licensed under Apache-2.0 and plugNmeet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Jitsi Meet and plugNmeet with Docker?
Jitsi Meet: yes. plugNmeet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Jitsi Meet or plugNmeet?
plugNmeet has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Jitsi Meet. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.