# 8x8 JaaS vs self-hosted Jitsi

> 8x8's Jitsi as a Service (JaaS) runs Jitsi for you and bills per monthly active user, with extra per-minute fees for recording and transcription. It is the fastest start and zero operations. Self-hosted Jitsi runs in your own cloud with no per-user fees, full data control and full branding, but you operate it. JaaS usually wins for small or unpredictable usage; self-hosting wins as users grow or when data must stay in your infrastructure.

Source: https://jitsi.help/compare/jaas-vs-self-hosted-jitsi/
Updated: September 26, 2026
Publisher: Jitsi Help (https://jitsi.help/)

8x8 develops Jitsi and sells it as a hosted service, JaaS. The same software can also run on your own server. The right choice depends on your users, your data rules and who will operate it.

## At a glance

| | 8x8 JaaS | Self-hosted Jitsi |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | 8x8 | You, or a provider in your account |
| Pricing | Per monthly active user, tiers | Server and bandwidth |
| Recording and transcription | Per-minute fees | Your server capacity, no per-minute fee with Vosk |
| Where data lives | 8x8's infrastructure | Your cloud account and region |
| Branding | Supported | Full, including domain and UI |
| Embedding | IFrame API, JWT | IFrame API, JWT |
| Time to start | Minutes | Hours by hand, minutes with one-click tools |
| Operations | None | Updates, monitoring, certificates |

## Cost as usage grows

Per-user pricing is friendly at the start and steep later. A server's cost is flat: the same t3.medium serves 20 or 200 monthly users if they do not all meet at once. Recording and transcription make the gap wider, because self-hosted Jibri and Vosk have no per-minute charge. Our [self-hosting cost guide](/guides/jitsi-self-hosting-cost/) has worked examples.

## Data and compliance

With self-hosting, meetings, recordings and transcripts stay in the cloud account and region you choose. That is often the deciding factor for healthcare, education and public sector projects with residency or processor rules.

## Effort

JaaS's real advantage is zero operations. Self-hosting means someone handles installs, upgrades, SSL and incidents. That is the gap our platform closes: it deploys and manages Jitsi **in your own AWS account**, so you get self-hosted economics and data control with a hosted-style setup.

## Which to choose

- **JaaS:** prototypes, low or unpredictable usage, no ops capacity, no data residency requirements.
- **Self-hosted:** growing usage, heavy recording or transcription, strict data control, full white label.
- **One-click self-hosting:** you want the second list without hiring for it. [See how it works](/jitsi-hosting/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does 8x8 JaaS cost?

JaaS has a free developer tier and paid monthly tiers based on monthly active users, starting around $99 a month for a few hundred users at the time of writing, with per-minute fees for recording, streaming and transcription. Check 8x8's pricing page for current figures.

### Is self-hosted Jitsi cheaper than JaaS?

Usually once you have hundreds of monthly users, because a server's cost does not grow per user. For a handful of users, JaaS's free or entry tier can be cheaper than running a server, especially once you count your time.

### Can I move from JaaS to self-hosted Jitsi later?

Yes. Both use the same Jitsi Meet software, the same IFrame API and JWT-based access, so an embedded integration moves with modest changes: a new domain, your own signing key setup and your own recording storage.


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Jitsi Help is an independent service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by 8x8, Inc. or the Jitsi project. Jitsi and Jitsi Meet are trademarks of 8x8, Inc., used here only to describe the software we host and support.