Best open-source alternatives to Zoom

Jitsi Meet is an open source video conferencing project designed for people who want to run or use modern online meetings. It is presented as a browser-based service, with companion mobile apps and SDKs for integrating meeting functionality into other products. The README emphasizes usability across current browsers and highlights core conferencing capabilities such as HD audio/video, chat, polls, reactions, and virtual backgrounds. The project is aimed both at end users who join meetings on the public service and at organizations that want to deploy their own instance. Deployment guidance points to the Jitsi handbook, with Debian packages, Docker-based deployment, and source builds available for self-hosting. The README also mentions Jitsi as a Service (JaaS) for teams that prefer a managed enterprise offering rather than operating the platform themselves.

Rocket.Chat is an open-source communications platform aimed at organizations that need secure, customizable collaboration tools. It supports team messaging and real-time conversations for internal coworkers as well as external communication with customers, citizens, or partner companies. The project is designed for self-hosted, cloud, and air-gapped deployments, making it suitable for regulated or high-security environments. It also includes security and governance features such as identity management, end-to-end encryption, and role- and attribute-based access control, while offering extensibility through a marketplace, Apps-Engine, and external integrations.

Neko is a self-hosted virtual browser and desktop streaming project designed to run inside Docker and deliver the session to users over WebRTC. It is aimed at people who want a private, secure, and shareable browser environment, including developers, teams, presenters, and users who need a persistent or isolated browsing session. The project emphasizes collaborative use: multiple participants can access the same session, interact with the browser in real time, and use it for watch parties, teaching, support, brainstorming, or remote presentations. Beyond browsers, it can stream other Linux applications or even a full desktop environment, and it also supports use cases like session broadcasting, recording, and browser automation.

LiveKit is an open source media server and platform for building real-time video, audio, and data applications. It is aimed at developers who need conferencing, livestreaming, interactive rooms, or other low-latency communication features backed by WebRTC. The project centers on a scalable SFU server written in Go, with support for production use, distributed deployments, and multi-region setups. It also provides client and server SDKs across multiple languages and platforms, plus a CLI, Helm charts, and Docker images to simplify deployment and integration. Developers can use its access-token model, server APIs, and webhooks to build custom real-time apps and automations.

BigBlueButton is an open-source virtual classroom platform built for online learning and remote instruction. It is aimed primarily at teachers, instructors, and learners, but the README also notes that it can be used for tutoring, flipped classrooms, group collaboration, and online classes. The system supports live audio and video, slide presentation with whiteboard annotations, chat, screen sharing, polling, emojis, shared notes, breakout rooms, and recording/playback for later review. The README also mentions a Learning Analytics Dashboard for moderators and points to technical documentation that covers architecture, features, API, and the default front-end called GreenLight.

Janus is an open source, general-purpose WebRTC server developed by Meetecho. It is aimed at developers and teams building real-time communication systems that need a media gateway rather than a client application. The project is presented as the newer multistream branch of Janus, with the repository intended primarily for Linux systems and also buildable on macOS. The README emphasizes a modular, dependency-driven architecture: core functionality can be extended with optional components for REST, WebSockets, data channels, SIP, messaging backends, and media-related plugins. Installation is done by compiling from source after satisfying library dependencies, with package commands shown for Fedora and Debian/Ubuntu, and additional guidance for manually building libraries such as libnice, libsrtp, BoringSSL, usrsctp, and libwebsockets.

Tinode is an instant messaging platform intended as a modern, open replacement for XMPP-style federated chat systems. It provides a backend written in Go and clients for web, Android, iOS, and a scriptable command-line interface. The project is aimed at teams or individuals who want a self-hostable messaging stack with mobile and browser access. The server supports messaging, calls, channels, access control, and multi-device synchronization, while also offering administration tooling and support for custom authentication backends. It can be deployed with different database backends and uses JSON/websocket or protobuf/gRPC transports. The README also points to public demo and sandbox services for trying the system before self-hosting.

MiroTalk P2P is an open-source, self-hosted video conferencing platform built around direct WebRTC peer-to-peer connections. It is designed for people or organizations that want to run their own real-time communication system with control over data, privacy, and deployment. The project emphasizes quick self-hosting, offering both a manual Node.js setup and Docker-based deployment. Its feature set includes high-resolution video, screen sharing, chat, recording, whiteboards, file sharing, and integration options such as a REST API, embeddable widgets, and messaging service hooks. The README also highlights OIDC authentication, room passwords, host protection, and white-label/rebranding support, suggesting it is aimed at customizable production use as well as demonstrations and internal collaboration.

screego/server is a screen-sharing service aimed at developers who need clearer, faster remote viewing than typical corporate meeting tools provide. It is positioned as a lightweight addition to existing collaboration software, focused specifically on screen sharing rather than broader conferencing or chat features. The project emphasizes simple deployment and practical network handling. The README highlights support for multi-user screensharing, secure transfer over WebRTC, low latency, high resolution, and an integrated TURN server for NAT traversal. It can be installed either with Docker or as a single binary, and the project provides a public demo instance and documentation for setup and configuration.

SimpleX Chat is a privacy-focused messaging platform built around the idea of avoiding user identifiers entirely. It is intended for people who want private conversations, metadata protection, and secure communication without relying on traditional account-based identity systems. The README describes mobile apps for Android and iOS as well as a terminal/CLI app for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Users can connect by sharing a link or scanning a QR code, then exchange messages, join groups, and make video calls. The project also highlights double ratchet end-to-end encryption, a directory service for user-created groups, and a community-oriented workflow for support, updates, and translation contributions.