Jitsi Meet vs BigBlueButton: Which to Self-Host?
Quick Verdict
Jitsi Meet is the better choice for most self-hosters. It deploys in minutes with Docker, runs on 4-8 GB RAM, and handles casual meetings, team standups, and small-to-medium calls effortlessly. BigBlueButton is purpose-built for education and online classrooms — it includes a whiteboard, breakout rooms with built-in timers, shared notes, polls, and learning management system (LMS) integration. If you’re running a school or training program, choose BigBlueButton. For everything else, choose Jitsi.
Overview
Jitsi Meet is a general-purpose video conferencing platform built on WebRTC. It’s developed by 8x8 Inc (formerly Atlassian), supports encryption, requires no accounts for participants, and works entirely in the browser. It’s the closest self-hosted equivalent to Zoom or Google Meet.
BigBlueButton (BBB) is an open-source web conferencing system designed for online learning. It integrates with Moodle, Canvas, Greenlight, and other LMS platforms. BBB has been in development since 2007 and is used by universities and schools worldwide.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Jitsi Meet | BigBlueButton |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | General video calls | Online classrooms |
| Participant Limit (practical) | ~75 (single JVB) | ~100-150 (single server) |
| Docker Deployment | Official Docker Compose | Community Docker (not official) |
| No-Install Client | Yes (browser-only) | Yes (browser-only, HTML5) |
| End-to-End Encryption | Yes (E2EE via Insertable Streams) | No (TLS transport only) |
| Screen Sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Recording | Yes (via Jibri, separate server) | Yes (built-in) |
| Breakout Rooms | Yes | Yes (with timers and auto-assignment) |
| Whiteboard | Basic (Excalidraw integration) | Advanced (multi-page, built-in) |
| Shared Notes | No | Yes (Etherpad integration) |
| Polls | Yes (basic) | Yes (named/anonymous, multiple types) |
| Hand Raising | Yes | Yes |
| Live Captions | Yes (via Whisper/Jigasi) | Yes (built-in) |
| Chat | Yes (text chat in meetings) | Yes (public + private chat) |
| LMS Integration | Limited | Moodle, Canvas, Sakai, ATutor, Schoology |
| Mobile Apps | Android, iOS | Android (limited), iOS (limited) |
| Calendar Integration | No built-in | Greenlight frontend with scheduling |
| XMPP-based | Yes (Prosody) | No (custom signaling) |
| License | Apache 2.0 | LGPL v3 |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB (16 GB recommended) |
Installation Complexity
Jitsi Meet has an official Docker Compose setup with 4 containers (web, prosody, jicofo, jvb). Clone the repo, set environment variables, run docker compose up. The only tricky part is setting JVB_ADVERTISE_IPS for NAT and opening UDP port 10000. Total time: ~10 minutes.
BigBlueButton does NOT have an official Docker deployment. The recommended installation is a bash script (bbb-install.sh) that requires a dedicated Ubuntu 22.04 server — not a container, not shared with other services. The script installs dozens of packages including Nginx, Freeswitch (SIP), Kurento (media), MongoDB, Redis, Node.js, and more. Community Docker setups exist but are complex and not officially supported. Total time: ~30-60 minutes.
Winner: Jitsi Meet. Docker-native vs. bare-metal-only is a massive difference for self-hosters.
Performance and Resource Usage
| Metric | Jitsi Meet | BigBlueButton |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB (official minimum) |
| Recommended RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| CPU Cores | 2-4 | 4-8 |
| Disk | 10 GB | 50 GB (recordings grow fast) |
| Network (per participant) | 0.5-2.5 Mbps | 0.5-2 Mbps |
| Idle Resource Usage | Low (containers sleep) | High (many always-on services) |
| Container Count | 4 | 10+ (or bare-metal with ~15 services) |
BigBlueButton is significantly heavier. It runs a SIP server (FreeSWITCH), a media server (Kurento/mediasoup), MongoDB, Redis, Nginx, and several Node.js processes. A dedicated 16 GB server is realistic for a smooth experience with 25+ concurrent users.
Winner: Jitsi Meet. Runs on half the hardware.
Community and Support
| Metric | Jitsi Meet | BigBlueButton |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Stars | 24,000+ | 8,600+ |
| Community | Very large (8x8 backed) | Large (education-focused) |
| Documentation | Good (official handbook) | Extensive (detailed admin docs) |
| Commercial Version | 8x8 JaaS (Jitsi-as-a-Service) | BigBlueButton Inc (hosted) |
| Release Cadence | Frequent (stable builds weekly) | Quarterly major releases |
| Third-Party Integrations | Moderate | Excellent (LMS ecosystem) |
Jitsi has a larger developer community and more frequent updates. BigBlueButton has deeper integration with the education ecosystem.
Use Cases
Choose Jitsi Meet If…
- You need general-purpose video conferencing
- Docker-based deployment is important to you
- You want quick setup with minimal server requirements
- End-to-end encryption matters
- Participants should join without creating accounts
- You’re replacing Zoom or Google Meet for your team
Choose BigBlueButton If…
- You’re running a school, university, or training program
- You need integrated whiteboard, shared notes, and polls
- LMS integration (Moodle, Canvas) is required
- You have a dedicated 16 GB+ server available
- Recording with playback is essential
- Breakout rooms with timers and auto-assignment matter
Final Verdict
Jitsi Meet wins for general use. It’s dramatically easier to deploy (Docker vs. bare-metal script), lighter on resources (4 GB vs. 16 GB RAM), and handles the core meeting experience — video, audio, screen share, chat — excellently. For team meetings, client calls, and casual video chats, Jitsi is all you need.
BigBlueButton wins for education. Its classroom-specific features — multi-page whiteboard, shared notes (Etherpad), named/anonymous polls, LMS integration, and built-in recording with playback — are genuinely superior. No amount of Jitsi configuration replicates what BBB does for instructors. If you’re teaching, BBB is worth the heavier server requirements.
For most self-hosters, Jitsi is the right answer. For educators, BigBlueButton is purpose-built for you.
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