Jitsi Videobridge vs plugNmeet
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video conferencing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Jitsi Videobridge | plugNmeet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Kotlin | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,105 | ★ 540 |
| First released | 2013 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Zoom, Twilio | Zoom, BigBlueButton |
What are Jitsi Videobridge and plugNmeet?
Jitsi Videobridge
Jitsi Videobridge is the selective forwarding unit that routes video streams for Jitsi-based conferences. It can be deployed independently to power scalable WebRTC video applications.
- Selective forwarding unit for video
- Scales to many participants
- WebRTC compatible
- Powers Jitsi Meet
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 Videobridge vs plugNmeet: key differences
Jitsi Videobridge is written in Kotlin, while plugNmeet is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Jitsi Videobridge versus MIT for plugNmeet. Jitsi Videobridge is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for plugNmeet. Jitsi Videobridge is the more established project (first released 2013), while plugNmeet arrived in 2022. Jitsi Videobridge has the considerably larger community, at 3,105 GitHub stars versus 540.
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
Watch out for
- Component of a larger stack
- Complex to tune
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 Videobridge or plugNmeet better?
Neither is universally better. Jitsi Videobridge has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Jitsi Videobridge and plugNmeet free and open-source?
Yes. Jitsi Videobridge is licensed under Apache-2.0 and plugNmeet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Jitsi Videobridge and plugNmeet with Docker?
Jitsi Videobridge: yes. plugNmeet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Jitsi Videobridge or plugNmeet?
Jitsi Videobridge has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for plugNmeet. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.