# Jitsi Meet vs Zoom

> Zoom is a polished commercial service billed per host, with the richest feature set and apps. Jitsi Meet is open source and can run on your own server, so you pay for infrastructure instead of licenses, keep meeting data in your own cloud and can rebrand it. Choose Zoom for maximum polish with no operations; choose self-hosted Jitsi for control, privacy, branding and lower cost at scale.

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

Zoom and Jitsi Meet solve the same problem from opposite directions. Zoom is a product you rent per person. Jitsi is software you can own and run.

## At a glance

| | Jitsi Meet (self-hosted) | Zoom |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Your server and bandwidth, no per-user fees | Per-host monthly licenses, add-ons extra |
| Where meetings run | Your own server or cloud account | Zoom's cloud |
| Recordings stored | Your storage, e.g. your S3 bucket | Zoom cloud or local disk |
| Join without install | Yes, in the browser | Browser join exists; the app is pushed |
| Account needed to join | No | No for guests; hosts need accounts |
| Branding | Full white label | Limited customization |
| Source code | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Proprietary |
| Webinars for thousands | Via streaming or scaling work | Built in, paid add-on |
| Operations | You or your provider run it | None |

## Cost

Zoom charges per licensed host every month, and features like webinars, large meetings and cloud storage cost extra. It is simple and predictable for small teams.

A self-hosted Jitsi server costs the same whether 5 or 500 people use it, as long as it can carry the load: a 4 GB server is about $33 a month on AWS, plus bandwidth. For an organization with many occasional hosts, that is often far cheaper. See the [real self-hosting numbers](/guides/jitsi-self-hosting-cost/).

## Privacy and data control

With self-hosted Jitsi:

- Meetings are processed on your server, in the region you choose.
- Recordings and transcripts land in your own storage.
- You control logs, retention and who has access.

That matters for healthcare, education, legal, government and any company with data residency rules. Zoom has made large security investments, but it is still a third party processing your meetings.

## Features

Both cover the everyday essentials: HD video, screen sharing, chat, reactions, raise hand, breakout rooms, lobbies, passwords, recording and live captions (Jitsi via Jibri and Jigasi).

Zoom leads on native apps, a large integrations marketplace, webinars with registration, whiteboard polish and AI summaries. Jitsi leads on zero-install joining, embedding (the IFrame API and JWT make it easy to put meetings inside your own product) and white labeling.

## Reliability

Zoom runs a global network. A self-hosted Jitsi server is as reliable as the server and the person running it. In practice, a correctly sized server with a pinned release is very stable; the failures we see are configuration, not software. See [troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/).

## Which should you choose?

**Choose Zoom if** you want zero operations, need large webinars, or rely on Zoom integrations.

**Choose self-hosted Jitsi if** you need data to stay in your own infrastructure, want your own brand, want to embed meetings in your product, or have many users and want to stop paying per seat.

## Getting self-hosted Jitsi without the work

Our platform deploys Jitsi into your own AWS account in one click, with your domain, SSL and optional recording, transcription, branding and JWT. [See how it works](/jitsi-hosting/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Jitsi as good as Zoom?

For everyday team meetings, yes: audio, video, screen sharing, chat, recording and breakout rooms all work in the browser without installs. Zoom is ahead on large webinars, native desktop apps, integrations and polish. Jitsi is ahead on self-hosting, privacy control and cost at scale.

### Is Jitsi more private than Zoom?

When you self-host Jitsi, meetings run on your own server and recordings stay in your own storage, so no third party processes them. Zoom offers strong security features, but your meeting metadata and cloud recordings live with Zoom.

### Does Jitsi have a time limit like Zoom's free plan?

A self-hosted Jitsi server has no time limit or participant cap other than what your server and bandwidth can carry. Public free services, including meet.jit.si, may apply their own limits.


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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.