Alternatives / Zoom
Looking for an open source Zoom alternative? We compared 3 open source video meeting and collaboration platforms by license, self-hosting, encryption, and scale. Jitsi is the closest replacement, WorkAdventure adds virtual spaces, and Wire is an encrypted collaboration platform.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Jitsi | Closest self-hosted video meetings | Apache-2.0 |
| WorkAdventure | Virtual offices for remote teams (license unclear) | Not clearly declared (no license file in the repository) |
| Wire | Encrypted messaging and calls for organizations | AGPL-3.0 server, GPL-3.0 clients |
We looked for open-source tools that overlap with Zoom's core: video meetings you can join from a browser or app, with chat and screen sharing. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Zoom is a hosted meeting product, so we compare how each alternative is hosted and note where licensing is unclear. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Video calls use a lot of bandwidth and CPU, so running Jitsi or WorkAdventure for many participants needs well-sized servers, TURN support, and monitoring. Jitsi also offers a managed service, JaaS (Jitsi as a Service), from its core team if you do not want to operate it.
Jitsi is the closest: encrypted video conferencing in the browser with no account required, which you can self-host or embed in your own applications. WorkAdventure adds virtual office spaces where people move around a map and talk to those nearby, which suits informal teamwork more than formal webinars.
Wire combines end-to-end encrypted messaging, file sharing, and video calls for organizations, with SSO, SCIM, and admin controls. It is aimed at enterprises and its backend is AGPL-3.0 with GPL-3.0 client apps.
WorkAdventure's GitHub repository has no license file at its root and GitHub reports no license, so the terms for reuse and self-hosting are unclear. Check the project's documentation and ask the maintainers before building a business on it.
Jitsi Meet is Apache-2.0. Wire's server is AGPL-3.0 and its client apps are GPL-3.0. WorkAdventure's license is not clearly declared in its repository.
Jitsi, WorkAdventure, and Wire all had commits within days of this update.
Zoom is a proprietary hosted service with meeting limits on free plans, per-host pricing, and meeting data processed on its servers. Open-source alternatives let you host meetings on your own infrastructure, keep calls and chat under your control, avoid per-host pricing, and embed meetings in your own apps, at the cost of running servers that handle real-time video well.
Jitsi is an Apache-2.0 video-conferencing platform with browser meetings, screen sharing, mobile clients, embedding, and self-hosted deployment.
Pricing: Free and open source under Apache-2.0; hosted deployment and infrastructure may cost money.
WorkAdventure is a virtual office where teams move avatars through shared 2D spaces and enter video conversations based on proximity. It uses AGPL-3.0 with Commons Clause terms.
Pricing: Self-hostable source available software; Commons Clause restricts some commercial uses.
Wire is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted collaboration platform for messaging, calls, and file sharing, aimed at organizations with strong security requirements, with SSO, SCIM, granular admin controls, and on-premises deployment. The server is AGPL-3.0 and the client apps are GPL-3.0.
Pricing: Free for personal use; paid plans for teams and enterprises.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jitsi | Video conferencing | Apache-2.0 | Yes | Meetings and embedding |
| WorkAdventure | Virtual office | Unclear | Yes | Informal team spaces |
| Wire | Secure collaboration | AGPL-3.0 server, GPL-3.0 clients | Yes | Encrypted calls and chat |
Want free, self-hosted video meetings
Jitsi Meet is Apache-2.0, runs in the browser with no account, and can be self-hosted or embedded in your apps.
Want a virtual office for a remote team
WorkAdventure lets people move around a map and talk to nearby colleagues, but its license is unclear in the repository.
Want encrypted calls and messaging for a company
Wire offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, calls, and file sharing, with SSO, SCIM, and on-premises deployment.