Zoom vs Jitsi Meet: when does a self-hosted Jitsi Meet replace Zoom?
Jitsi Meet fits ad hoc and internal meetings when your organization wants to control the infrastructure, while Zoom fits teams that want a managed service with webinars and central admin controls. The decision usually starts with a renewal, a licensing change, a data residency rule or a lock-in concern, but it turns on four things: how much recording and streaming you need, whether you need SIP room access, how many concurrent participants you expect, and who will run the stack after go-live. Jitsi Meet is licensed under Apache 2.0 and is maintained by 8x8, Inc., which also sells hosted Jitsi as a Service, so the self-hosted route is a genuine option, but it is an operating commitment rather than a license swap.
Start with recording and streaming. Zoom saves cloud recordings as MP4, M4A, TXT chat, VTT transcript and CC.VTT files from a single admin setting. In Jitsi, recording and live streaming come from the optional Jibri component, which runs as its own container and handles one recording per Jibri instance, so you must size and count Jibri instances against your expected sessions. Confirm with your team whether transcripts are required, because Jitsi does not produce them out of the box and that work falls to a separate transcription service. SIP is the second check. Jigasi is the SIP gateway in the Docker setup, and you should test that your phone carriers and room numbering match what your users rely on today.
Scale and ownership are the third and fourth checks. Jitsi scales by adding Jitsi Videobridge nodes, and the handbook suggests a 4 CPU, 8 GB machine for the central server and 4 or 8 CPU with 8 GB RAM for each videobridge, which you should validate against your own participant counts. HTTPS with a proper domain certificate is required for audio and video to work, so plan certificate management before pilots begin. Name an owner for upgrades, monitoring and authentication configuration, such as JWT tokens, before you commit. If no one on your team will own those tasks, a managed Zoom plan or a support retainer with an implementation partner may be the safer fit.
Which scenarios favor Jitsi Meet and which favor Zoom
This table maps common Zoom use cases to the platform that usually fits better, and names the condition that tips the decision. Read each row against your own requirements, and treat the condition column as the question to answer before you commit to a migration.
| Scenario | Better fit | Condition that drives the choice |
|---|---|---|
| Internal meetings with data residency needs | Jitsi Meet | Meetings stay on servers you control if you run the web, Prosody, Jicofo and videobridge components in your own region and network |
| Large webinars and town halls | Zoom | Jitsi can stream through Jibri, but large audiences need extra videobridge capacity and a tested streaming path, while Zoom Webinars already provides registration and audience tooling |
| SIP dial-in from room systems and phones | Zoom | Jitsi reaches SIP through the optional Jigasi gateway, which needs its own configuration and testing; confirm that your dial plan and telephony provider work with it before relying on it |
| Recording and transcription | Zoom | Zoom saves MP4, M4A, VTT and caption files from the cloud; Jitsi recording needs Jibri with its own storage and a separate transcription service, so plan the pipeline before retiring Zoom recordings |
| Small teams without operations staff | Zoom | Jitsi needs someone to patch, monitor and renew certificates; if no one owns that work, a hosted service or Zoom's managed model fits better |
| Air-gapped or fully disconnected networks | Jitsi Meet | Zoom's cloud-managed model does not fit a disconnected network; Jitsi can run locally, but you must supply certificates, TURN and an offline update process |
| Teams that need a single admin console for users, licenses and reports | Zoom | Zoom's admin controls are built in; with Jitsi, user access, authentication and reporting are assembled from the chosen authentication method and your own logs |
| Organizations that want no per-user license fee | Jitsi Meet | The software is Apache-2.0 licensed, but servers, bandwidth, TURN and staff time become the recurring costs to model before deciding |
How Jitsi Meet can be hosted and who controls each part
The free public instance at meet.jit.si is run by the Jitsi project and is available without an account or a contract. Meetings are created by anyone who knows or guesses a room name, and the service is not configured to your identity provider, retention rules or logging policy. Your organization does not control where media is routed, when the software changes, or what operational records exist, so it suits informal use rather than regulated meetings.
- Data location: Media and signaling pass through infrastructure you do not operate or contract for, so you cannot name the hosting region or data path in an assessment.
- Updates: The provider changes the service on its own schedule, with no maintenance window you can plan around.
- Operator responsibility: You have no administrative access, no authentication configuration and no recording control beyond what participants do.
- Use case limits: Treat it as an evaluation or low-sensitivity option, and check its current terms with the provider before any business use.
Before approving any use, confirm the terms of service and privacy statement that apply to the public instance on the Jitsi security and privacy page.
8x8, Inc. builds Jitsi and sells Jitsi as a Service (JaaS), where the vendor runs the platform for your tenant. You get a dedicated configuration with JWT-based authentication, but the servers, software updates and availability sit with 8x8. This removes server administration from your team while keeping the Jitsi client and APIs, and it is a commercial relationship, so the contract becomes your main control.
- Data location: Meeting infrastructure runs in 8x8's environment, so you must ask for region, sub-processor and data retention terms in writing.
- Updates: 8x8 applies releases to its hosted service, so you receive changes you did not schedule.
- Operator responsibility: Your team manages users, tokens and integrations, while 8x8 operates the media and signaling stack under contract.
- Commercial terms: Pricing, service levels and recording options come from the agreement, so request a written quote that lists each component.
Ask 8x8 for its data processing terms, audit evidence it can provide, and how recordings are stored and deleted.
Running the official Docker setup places the web, Prosody, Jicofo, Jitsi Videobridge, and the optional Jigasi and Jibri containers on servers you control. Your team decides where the hosts sit, which images are deployed and when they are replaced. Authentication is set in the .env file, with options such as internal XMPP accounts, JWT tokens, LDAP or Matrix verification, so identity integration stays under your control.
- Data location: Media and recordings stay in the infrastructure you select, including on-premises or in your own cloud accounts.
- Updates: Your team pulls and tests new image tags, so timing follows your change process.
- Operator responsibility: You own container hosts, TLS certificates, firewall rules, backups and monitoring of each service.
- Hardening: Since stable-11146 the containers run rootless with read-only filesystems, which your security team should verify in its own build.
Check the Docker guide for the image versions and environment variables that match your release before planning a rollout.
Installing the Debian or Ubuntu packages puts the same components directly on host operating systems, with the operating system package manager handling updates. This route suits teams that already patch Linux hosts through configuration management and do not run containers in production. The quick start requires Debian 12 (Bookworm) or newer or Ubuntu 24.04 or newer, OpenJDK 17, and specific ports open, so host baselines must be planned early.
- Data location: Everything runs on hosts you choose, so residency depends only on your infrastructure.
- Updates: You control package upgrades, but must track Jitsi release changes and test them against your host versions.
- Operator responsibility: You manage the web server, Prosody, Jicofo and videobridge configuration, plus HTTPS certificates from a proper domain, since self-signed certificates cause problems.
- Ports: Open 80/TCP, 443/TCP and 10000/UDP, with 5349/TCP and 3478/UDP as optional fallbacks.
Confirm the operating system versions and ports against the current quick start before you size hosts.
Zoom Node is a Zoom-supplied appliance that runs hosting modules such as Zoom Meetings Hybrid and Recording Hybrid on your premises. Media can stay local, but the node is managed from the Zoom cloud, so Zoom controls part of the update and management path. That model suits organizations that want Zoom's client and cloud features with some local hosting, and it is a different responsibility split from running Jitsi yourself.
- Data location: Meeting media can remain on premises, while management traffic and cloud features depend on Zoom's service.
- Updates: Zoom manages the node's software from its cloud, so your change calendar relies on the vendor's process.
- Operator responsibility: Your team handles network placement and access, while Zoom handles the managed portion.
- Trade-off: Self-hosted Jitsi moves all of these components to your team, with more work and more direct control.
Confirm with Zoom which functions still require its cloud after deployment, using the Zoom Node product page as the starting point.
What data control and compliance mean for a self-hosted Jitsi deployment
Moving from Zoom to Jitsi Meet changes who holds meeting media, recordings and identity data. The cards below cover the decisions that determine whether a self-hosted Jitsi deployment gives you the control you expect. Each one has a setup choice and a check you should complete before rollout.
Where media and recordings live
Jitsi media flows through the Jitsi Videobridge servers you run, so meeting traffic stays in your network path. Recordings are different: Jibri writes them to the host where it runs, and nothing moves them off that host by default. Decide the storage location, retention period and backup scope for recordings before the first live meeting, and confirm that the Jibri hosts sit in the same jurisdiction and access boundary as your other sensitive data.
HTTPS certificate requirements
The Jitsi handbook states that HTTPS is necessary for audio and video to work. It also warns that self-signed certificates cause problems, especially with mobile clients. Plan a certificate from a trusted authority for your domain, with renewal automated, before you invite users. Test the setup on phones and tablets, since a certificate error often shows up only there.
Authentication method choice
The Docker setup supports internal XMPP accounts, JWT tokens, LDAP, Matrix user verification and a hybrid Matrix plus JWT mode, all set in the .env file. The handbook marks the older secure domain method, which uses usernames and passwords for room creation, as deprecated for new installations and recommends JWT tokens with a separate anonymous domain for guests. Choose the method that matches how your staff sign in today, and test guest access separately.
Identity system integration
Jitsi does not manage a corporate directory on its own. LDAP connects user checks to your existing directory, and JWT lets your own application issue meeting tokens tied to a verified identity. Confirm which system is the source of truth for joiners, how account removal reaches Jitsi, and whether moderators get elevated rights from a group or a token claim. Test a departed employee's access before you go live.
Evidence for compliance assessments
DeployOpen plans, configures and documents the Jitsi deployment, and prepares the evidence an assessment will ask for, such as configuration records, access settings and backup records. DeployOpen does not issue audit reports or certifications. Independent auditors and certification bodies make that determination. Ask your assessor early which controls they will test, so the evidence is gathered in the form they need.
Recording, streaming and SIP in Jitsi Meet versus Zoom
Zoom treats recording as a built-in service: cloud recordings are saved as MP4 video, M4A audio, TXT chat, VTT transcript and CC.VTT caption files, and the account owner downloads them from the recordings page. Jitsi Meet has no equivalent. Recording and live streaming come from Jibri, an optional component that joins a meeting as a participant and captures it. The jitsi/jibri repository and the handbook describe Jibri as one recording per Jibri instance, so a second simultaneous recording needs a second Jibri host. Each host needs its own CPU, memory and disk, and it must be sized for the video it encodes. Your team also has to decide where the MP4 files go, how long they are kept, and who can retrieve them. Transcription is not part of the stack. Whisper, Vosk or another speech engine must be added separately and fed the recordings, and you should confirm the output formats each one produces before you commit to a retention or search workflow.
Zoom's dial-in and phone features run inside the Zoom account. Jitsi reaches telephones through Jigasi, the SIP gateway container in the Docker deployment, which bridges a SIP call into a conference. Jigasi is a separate service with its own configuration, its own accounts on your SIP trunk or PBX, and its own monitoring. Ask your telephony provider which codecs, dial-in numbers and PIN handling they support before you plan a rollout, because those choices are outside Jitsi. Confirm whether the dial-in numbers you need can be routed to your Jigasi instances and how the calls are logged for audit.
Plan the operational work for these add-ons as ongoing responsibilities, not one-time setup. Recording storage grows with every meeting, and the Jibri hosts need patching and capacity checks alongside the videobridges. Ask any implementation partner for a written list of what is installed, what is monitored and who responds when a recording fails, and check that the chosen Jibri and Jigasi versions match your Jitsi release. Before retiring Zoom, export and archive the recordings and transcripts you still need, so that the Zoom cloud copies are not your only record. Treat the Jitsi recording path as a project with its own budget line, not a checkbox on the meeting server.
Cost components when Jitsi Meet replaces Zoom
Jitsi Meet removes the per-user Zoom subscription but moves the cost into servers, bandwidth, recording storage and people. Most of these costs are recurring and scale with concurrent meetings and recorded hours, so size them against your real usage pattern before comparing totals.
No Jitsi license fee
Jitsi Meet is licensed under Apache 2.0, so there is no per-seat or per-host software fee to pay. The cost you do pay is for the software's support, if you buy it, and for your own engineering time to install, patch and upgrade it. Ask any vendor you engage whether its quote covers ongoing upgrades or only the first deployment, since upgrades recur with each release.
Central server and videobridge hardware
A self-hosted deployment runs a central server with Prosody and Jicofo, plus one or more Jitsi Videobridge media routers. The Jitsi scalable setup guide suggests a 4 CPU, 8 GB machine for the central server and 4 or 8 CPU with 8 GB RAM for each videobridge, but treat these as the handbook's suggestion, not a sizing for your load. Hardware is largely a one-time purchase or a recurring cloud instance cost, and the number of bridges rises with peak concurrent participants.
Bandwidth, TURN and TCP fallback
Video traffic is the largest recurring network cost, and it grows with the number of participants and the video quality each one receives. Plan for UDP 10000 for media, with 5349/TCP for TCP fallback and 3478/UDP for STUN where you use it. Clients behind strict firewalls may need a TURN relay, which adds bandwidth and a component to operate. Ask your hosting provider what egress is included and what it charges beyond that.
Jibri recording and storage
Jibri records and streams meetings, and each Jibri instance handles one recording at a time, so capacity for recorded sessions is a separate cost from meeting capacity. Each Jibri host needs its own compute, and recordings consume storage that recurs every month until you archive or delete them. Decide early how long recordings are kept, because Zoom's cloud recording quota is replaced by storage you pay for directly.
Implementation and operations staff
Someone must deploy, configure authentication, certificates and firewall rules, monitor, back up and upgrade the stack. This is usually the largest cost in the comparison and it recurs, because the platform needs ongoing attention rather than a one-time setup. Your options are internal staff, an implementation partner under a written fixed scope, or a retainer for upgrades and support. Ask any partner to itemize setup, handover and ongoing support separately.
Zoom subscription removed
Moving off Zoom removes the per-user subscription and any add-ons you were paying for, such as cloud recording or phone licences. Confirm the contract end date, notice period and any early termination terms with Zoom before you plan the cutover, because overlap between two platforms is a real cost during migration. Savings only appear once the old contract ends, so model the parallel-running period separately.
What moving from Zoom to Jitsi Meet involves
The sequence moves meetings from Zoom to a self-hosted Jitsi Meet deployment in your own infrastructure, with recordings and transcripts preserved first and each component proven in a pilot before Zoom is retired.
Inventory meetings, users and integrations
List the Zoom accounts, licensed users, recurring meetings, rooms, calendar and single sign-on links, and any apps or scripts that create meetings or call the Zoom API. Identify which meetings need dial-in by phone or room systems, since that drives the need for Jigasi. Ask your Zoom administrator which reports and settings the plan lets you export, and confirm that list with the owner of each integration. The step is done when every meeting type and integration has a named owner and a decision to replace, keep or retire it.
Export recordings and transcripts from Zoom first
Before any cutover, download cloud and local recordings while the Zoom account is still active. Zoom saves computer and cloud recordings as MP4 video, M4A audio, TXT chat, VTT transcript and CC.VTT caption files, which you can retrieve from the recordings page. Confirm with your Zoom plan and admin settings which of these files your account can export and whether any retention policy applies. Store the copies in an archive you control and record a checksum or inventory for each meeting. The step is done when a sample of files opens correctly and the archive index matches the recordings list.
Provision hosts and HTTPS certificates
Prepare the servers for a Jitsi deployment on Debian 12 or newer, or Ubuntu 24.04 or newer, using the Debian and Ubuntu quick start or the Docker setup. Open the ports the quick start lists, including 80/TCP, 443/TCP and 10000/UDP, and register a DNS name for the service. Obtain a certificate from a trusted authority for that domain, because Jitsi's handbook states HTTPS is necessary for audio and video to work and warns that self-signed certificates cause problems, especially with mobile clients. The step is done when the public URL loads over HTTPS and a test browser can reach the port range from outside the network.
Choose the authentication model
Decide who may create rooms and how guests join. The Jitsi handbook recommends JWT token authentication and marks the older secure domain method as deprecated for new installations, with a separate anonymous domain for guests. The Docker guide also lists internal XMPP accounts, LDAP, Matrix user verification and a hybrid option, configured through the .env file. Map your directory or identity provider to the chosen option and document who can issue tokens. The step is done when a test user can create a room, a guest can join the anonymous path, and an unauthorized user is refused.
Size and load test the videobridges
Plan the central server and one or more Jitsi Videobridge machines based on expected concurrent participants and bandwidth. The scalable setup guide suggests a 4 CPU, 8 GB machine for the central server and 4 or 8 CPU with 8 GB RAM for each videobridge, and notes that the default install is already configured for horizontal scaling, so you add bridges as load grows. Run load tests with realistic meeting sizes and simultaneous meetings from the sites and networks your users will use, and confirm TURN and firewall paths for users behind restrictive networks. The step is done when the load test results show acceptable quality at your target peak and you have a documented procedure for adding a bridge.
Configure Jibri and Jigasi where needed
Only if your meetings need recording, live streaming or phone dial-in, install Jibri for recording and streaming and Jigasi for SIP. Jibri runs as its own container in the official Docker setup, and the Jibri project documents that each instance handles one recording at a time, so size the number of instances to the number of concurrent recordings. Plan storage for the recording files and confirm where they are kept and for how long. Configure the SIP trunk or gateway that Jigasi will use. The step is done when a test recording and a test dial-in both complete and the output files are where your policy says they should be.
Pilot with a defined group
Select a pilot group that represents your meeting types, such as an internal team, a customer-facing group and one user who relies on dial-in. Run their regular meetings on Jitsi for a set period you agree internally, and collect feedback on audio, screen sharing, device support and join experience. Track issues in a shared log and fix configuration gaps before wider use. Ensure the pilot covers the authentication path and the recording workflow that you intend to use. The step is done when the pilot group signs off on the defined meeting types and open issues have an owner and a fix or accepted workaround.
Roll out to users and retire Zoom
Publish the new meeting links, the join guide and the support path, and move users in waves that match your pilot. Update calendars, bookmarks, room systems and any integrations that you inventoried earlier. Keep Zoom available in read-only or limited form for a transition period your leadership approves, then cancel licenses and remove integrations once usage has stopped. Confirm that the archived recordings and transcripts remain accessible to the people who need them. The step is done when Zoom usage has fallen to zero, licenses are cancelled, and the archive and runbook are handed to the operations team.
Questions buyers ask before choosing Jitsi Meet over Zoom
What does it cost to move from Zoom to self-hosted Jitsi Meet?
The switch replaces a per-user subscription with infrastructure, bandwidth and people, so the total depends on your meeting volume, peak concurrency and recording needs. Jitsi Meet itself is Apache 2.0 licensed, so there is no license fee. The recurring costs are the servers for the central components and each videobridge, outbound bandwidth, TURN capacity if users sit behind strict firewalls, storage for recordings, and staff time for patching and monitoring. Recording with Jibri adds machines of its own, and each Jibri instance records one meeting at a time. Ask any quote to show hardware and bandwidth separately, the one-time implementation effort, and the recurring operations effort. Compare that total with your current Zoom invoice over the same period.
How long does a self-hosted Jitsi deployment take, and what does it depend on?
The duration depends on how many environments you need, whether you use Docker or the Debian and Ubuntu packages, how many videobridges you plan, and how much identity integration sits in front of it. The supported operating systems for the Debian and Ubuntu quick start are Debian 12 or newer and Ubuntu 24.04 or newer, and it requires OpenJDK 17. Ports 80/TCP, 443/TCP and 10000/UDP must be open, with 5349/TCP and 3478/UDP as optional fallbacks. A valid domain certificate is needed early, because the handbook says HTTPS is necessary for audio and video to work. Ask for a written timeline tied to a fixed scope, covering testing with real networks and devices before rollout.
Can our internal IT team run Jitsi Meet without outside help?
Often yes for a small, single-site deployment, but the work is more than installing a package. Your team needs Linux administration, reverse proxy and certificate management, firewall and NAT configuration, and enough familiarity with Docker or packages to upgrade the stack. Jitsi publishes a scalable setup guide that adds videobridges as load grows, but someone must watch capacity and performance on each bridge. Before deciding, ask who will own on-call response, who tracks upgrades to the stable release tags, and who tests recovery. DeployOpen plans, implements, hardens, backs up, upgrades and supports self-hosted platforms in your environment, and ongoing support is available as a retainer.
What does Jitsi Meet lack compared with Zoom webinars and admin controls?
Jitsi Meet covers meetings well, but it is not a like-for-like replacement for every Zoom feature. Verify these areas with a test before you commit:
- Webinar-style registration, large audience management and Q&A workflows, which usually need other tools.
- Central admin consoles for user, group and license management, which you would build through your identity provider and the Docker or package configuration.
- Cloud-style reporting, dashboards and usage analytics, which you would assemble yourself.
- Live streaming and recording, which depend on Jibri, its hardware and a separate capacity plan.
Ask the vendor or your implementation partner to map each Zoom feature your organization uses to a Jitsi option, a gap, or a workaround.
How do I configure authentication and security for self-hosted Jitsi Meet?
Jitsi supports several authentication methods, configured through the .env file in the Docker setup. The options include internal XMPP accounts, JWT tokens, LDAP, Matrix user verification and a hybrid Matrix plus JWT mode. The handbook marks the older secure domain method, which uses usernames and passwords for room creation, as deprecated for new installs and recommends JWT token authentication with a separate anonymous domain for guests. Serve everything over HTTPS with a proper certificate, because self-signed certificates cause problems, especially on mobile. Ask for a documented access model, a token issuer plan, and a review of the Jitsi security and privacy material against your own control requirements.
Does Jitsi Meet meet our compliance requirements on its own?
No. Jitsi is software, and compliance depends on how you host, configure, log and govern it. Your auditors will look at access control, encryption in transit, change management, backups, logging and incident response, along with your data processing terms. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for compliance assessments, but it does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications, which independent auditors and certification bodies provide. Ask your assessor early which evidence they expect, and confirm with them how recordings and chat logs should be retained and deleted.
Will Jitsi Meet scale to our largest meetings?
Jitsi scales by adding videobridges, and the scalable setup guide notes that the default install is already configured for horizontal scaling. The guide suggests a 4 CPU, 8 GB machine for the central server and 4 or 8 CPU with 8 GB RAM for each videobridge. Those are starting points, not sizing for your load. Your actual needs depend on concurrent participants, video versus audio ratio, screen sharing, and bandwidth per bridge. Ask for a load test against your expected peak, and a plan that covers how many bridges you need and how new ones are added.
How DeployOpen helps evaluate and implement Jitsi Meet
DeployOpen plans, implements, hardens, documents and supports self-hosted Jitsi Meet inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. We start by testing whether Jitsi covers the meeting, recording and SIP needs your Zoom usage actually depends on, then build only what the written scope requires.
How we scope
- We map which Zoom meeting, webinar and admin features your organization uses before any design work begins.
- The written scope names the Jitsi components, recording and SIP requirements, authentication model and user groups covered.
- Engagements are fixed-scope, with deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts.
How we build
- We deploy the web front end, Prosody, Jicofo and Jitsi Videobridge using Docker or Debian and Ubuntu packages, as agreed.
- We configure HTTPS with a proper domain certificate, since self-signed certificates cause problems for audio and video.
- We set up authentication, such as JWT tokens or LDAP, and test meetings, optional Jibri recording and Jigasi SIP paths.
How we hand over
- You receive documentation of the architecture, network ports, configuration files and the authentication and user model.
- We document how to add videobridges as capacity grows, and how backups and upgrades are run in your environment.
- We prepare operational runbooks and evidence of the controls implemented, which your own auditors or certification bodies assess.
How we support
- Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer after handover.
- Retainers can cover updates to Jitsi releases, security testing of the deployment and changes to recording or SIP setups.
- Ask us to confirm the support scope, response expectations and upgrade process in the written proposal before you commit.
