Zoom vs BigBlueButton

Fit:

Migration notes

Strongest for training and classrooms using polls, breakout rooms, and shared notes. Integrate through an LMS/front-end/API and recreate sessions/invitations. Does not replace the surrounding Workspace or Zoom suite. Dedicated Ubuntu server and operational capacity required.

Sources: docs.bigbluebutton.org, docs.bigbluebutton.org, bigbluebutton.org · checked 2026-10-21

ZoomPaid incumbent

Entry priceUSD 14.16 / seat / month

Pricing modelper-seat, billed annual

OwnerZoom Communications, Inc.

Workplace Pro displayed annual-equivalent USD/user/month; monthly plan $16.99. Basic free plan exists. Tax excluded. Source

Zoom plans reviewed
Pro	entry	USD 16.99 / licensed user / mo
Business	business	USD 21.99 / licensed user / mo
Enterprise	enterprise	Not established

BigBlueButtonOpen-source alternative

Fit for Zoom

License

GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 Permissions of this copyleft license are conditioned on making available complete source code of licensed works and modifications under the same license or the GNU GPLv3. Copyright and license notices must be preserved. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. However, a larger work using the licensed work through interfaces provided by the licensed work may be distributed under different terms and without source code for the larger work. May Commercial useModificationDistributionPatent usePrivate use Must License and copyright noticeDisclose sourceState changesSame license (library) No LiabilityWarranty Summary from GitHub's choosealicense.com

Paid-feature tier U

Self-host

Paid-feature limits1 noted

BigBlueButton plans reviewed
BigBlueButton core	self-hosted core	Free
Enterprise	commercial hosted offering	Not established
Enterprise	commercial hosted offering	Not established

What you may give up

Commercial hosted Enhanced offering advertises additional plugins and enterprise analytics; precise OSS availability of all enhancements not established.

Tier U: Core conferencing/virtual classroom software is LGPL and supports self-hosting without proprietary restrictions. Commercial Enterprise comparison primarily sells operations/support, but Enhanced plugins/analytics licensing needs item-by-item verification before claiming all functionality is OSS. Tier U concerns feature parity, not core OSS license. License source

What running it takes

LiveKit
or
FreeSWITCH + mediasoup

Greenlight or LMS front end

Hover or focus an icon for its name. Dashed means not established; struck through means no; grouped icons are alternatives.

Scope:official v4.0.0 released14October2026, not preview, confirmed by GitHub release. Search index retained older DRAFT wording; current release/page controls.3.0 remains a separately documented route requiring Ubuntu22.04/Linux5.x; do not mix4.0 LiveKit default with older3.0 stack. No direct in-place upgrade from older3.x asserted. Infrastructure and staff time are not priced here; this page does not compare total cost.