The six options
| Option | Monthly cost | Your data location | Branding | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. meet.jit.si | Free, 95-minute meetings | 8x8’s public service | None | None |
| 2. 8x8 JaaS | Per active user | 8x8’s infrastructure | Yes | Low |
| 3. Managed hosting | Provider plan | Provider’s servers | Usually | Low |
| 4. DIY on a VPS | Compute, transfer, storage and operating time | Your VPS | Full | High |
| 5. Cloud marketplace image | Cloud + image fee | Your cloud account | Varies | Medium |
| 6. One-click into your cloud | Your cloud bill + one-time features | Your cloud account | Full | Low |
1. meet.jit.si
The free public instance. Great for quick calls. Since October 9, 2026, meetings there end after 95 minutes (what changed and your options), the person starting a meeting has to sign in, and embedding it in your own site only works for 5-minute demos. No control over data, branding, uptime or limits, and not suitable to build a business on.
2. 8x8 JaaS
Hosted Jitsi from the company that develops it, billed per monthly active user with per-minute recording and transcription fees. See JaaS vs self-hosted.
3. Managed Jitsi hosting
Hosting companies run Jitsi for you on their servers, usually for a monthly fee by server size, with support included. Simple, but the server and recordings live on their infrastructure, and moving away means migrating.
4. Do it yourself on a VPS
Direct infrastructure control, with costs that depend on your workload and operating time. You handle the install, SSL, firewall, authentication, recording, upgrades and incidents. Our Docker guide and troubleshooting pages are written for this path.
5. Cloud marketplace images
Pre-built images or templates on cloud marketplaces launch a Jitsi server in your account. They save the install, but you usually still wire up DNS, certificates, recording storage and upgrades yourself, and some add an hourly software fee.
6. One-click deployment into your own cloud
What our platform does. You connect your AWS account, choose a size and domain, and it provisions everything with Terraform and Ansible in 10 to 20 minutes: instance, security groups, Elastic IP, SSL, and optional recording to your S3 bucket, transcription, branding and JWT. You own the server; AWS bills you directly; features are one-time licenses.
How to decide
- Casual, occasional calls: meet.jit.si.
- Vendor-operated meeting infrastructure: evaluate JaaS.
- You want someone else’s server and a monthly plan: managed hosting.
- Infrastructure control and an operating owner: evaluate DIY.
- You want ownership, your brand and your data, without the setup: one-click in your own cloud.
Check requirements before choosing a plan
Use server requirements to define the workload, then use the calculator for explicit network assumptions. Compare total self-hosting cost with vendor plans, including recording, transfer, retention and support. Our hosting page explains our deployment service; feature prices are separate from your cloud bill. Ask each provider who owns upgrades, incidents, backups and data exports.