Agora vs LiveKit
How do Agora and LiveKit compare? And what does Video SDK offer?
Agora Live Video SDK aims to add live video calls live streams inside applications easier. The SDK is very low-level that allows enterprise development teams to control every aspect of the live video experience.
Livekit is a collection of SDKs that enables the integration of live video and audio into your native applications. It offers various notable features, including live streaming, in-game communication, video calls, and more. Livekit utilizes a modern, end-to-end WebRTC stack to deliver seamless and high-quality real-time communication experiences.
How Video SDK make a difference
If you're in search of a dependable live video conference SDK, you might have come across Livekit and Agora. Both are good platforms that provide SDKs for integrating live video calling and related features into your application.
Livekit and Agora offer reasonably reliable audio and video conferencing performance. However, achieving this requires writing lengthy blocks of code. Additionally, you may not find all the necessary features conveniently available in a single SDK.
And here comes Video SDK. A quite easy and quick SDK that helps you deal with multiple features, such as chat, polls, breakout rooms, streaming capability, and RTMP out — all in a single SDK.
In this comparison, we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of LiveKit and Agora, assisting you in making an informed decision.
Features comparison : Agora vs LiveKit vs Video SDK
features | Agora | LiveKit | Video SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
No. of participants (Including hosts) | ✕ 55 participants only | ✕ Limited | ✓ Up to millions of viewers |
Ease of SDK Integration | ✕ Avg. integration takes 3+ months | ✕ Development is moderately tough | ✓ Avg. integration takes only 2 weeks |
Adpative audio/video quality | ✕ Not available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Works behind the Firewall, Private Network | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Role Management, Permissions, Policy and Templates | ✕ Not available | ✕ Limited to host & participant roles | ✓ Available |
Automatic video and audio track degrade due to bandwidth in-consistency | ✕ Not available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available |
Dynamic Layout for Studio and RTMP Live Streaming | ✕ Not available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Build collaborative features like chat, poll, Q & A, whiteboard etc. | ✕ Not available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Virtual Background, Live Transcription & ML Middleware | ✕ Complex integration | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Webhooks | ✕ Only for cloud recording use-cases | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Pricing Model | ✓ Usage based | ✕ Subscription based | ✓ Usage based |
Interactive Live Streaming | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cloud Recording | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Interactive Whiteboard | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Multi-platform | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Interactive Participant Support | ✕ Limited support | ✕ Limited | ✓ Up to 5,000 |
Mobile browser support | ✕ Limited | ✕ Limited | ✓ 90% |
Automatic audio / video degrade, re-connectivity | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Audio & Video powered by AI | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Independent of Open Source Dependency | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Customised RTMP, Cloud Recording, HLS | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
API for building specific features such as collaborative games, polls etc | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
API to build social features such as merging rooms, battles, coins, gifts sending etc | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Full HD recording | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Open source templates | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Full Custom roles | ✕ Limited | ✕ Limited | ✓ Yes |
HLS Streaming | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cost-effective | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Prebuilt SDK | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Fully customizable UI | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Metaverse platform support | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Session analytics | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Data Tracks | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
features | Agora | LiveKit | Video SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
No. of participants (Including hosts) | ✕ 55 participants only | ✕ Limited | ✓ Up to millions of viewers |
Ease of SDK Integration | ✕ Avg. integration takes 3+ months | ✕ Development is moderately tough | ✓ Avg. integration takes only 2 weeks |
Adpative audio/video quality | ✕ Not available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Works behind the Firewall, Private Network | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Role Management, Permissions, Policy and Templates | ✕ Not available | ✕ Limited to host & participant roles | ✓ Available |
Automatic video and audio track degrade due to bandwidth in-consistency | ✕ Not available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available |
Dynamic Layout for Studio and RTMP Live Streaming | ✕ Not available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Build collaborative features like chat, poll, Q & A, whiteboard etc. | ✕ Not available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Virtual Background, Live Transcription & ML Middleware | ✕ Complex integration | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Webhooks | ✕ Only for cloud recording use-cases | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Pricing Model | ✓ Usage based | ✕ Subscription based | ✓ Usage based |
Interactive Live Streaming | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cloud Recording | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Interactive Whiteboard | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Multi-platform | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Interactive Participant Support | ✕ Limited support | ✕ Limited | ✓ Up to 5,000 |
Mobile browser support | ✕ Limited | ✕ Limited | ✓ 90% |
Automatic audio / video degrade, re-connectivity | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Audio & Video powered by AI | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Independent of Open Source Dependency | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Customised RTMP, Cloud Recording, HLS | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
API for building specific features such as collaborative games, polls etc | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
API to build social features such as merging rooms, battles, coins, gifts sending etc | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Full HD recording | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Open source templates | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Full Custom roles | ✕ Limited | ✕ Limited | ✓ Yes |
HLS Streaming | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cost-effective | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Prebuilt SDK | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Fully customizable UI | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Metaverse platform support | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Session analytics | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Data Tracks | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Cost comparison : Agora vs LiveKit vs Video SDK
features | Agora | LiveKit | Video SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
Volume Discount | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Video Conferencing |
|
|
|
Analytics | ✕
| ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
Separate pricing for video and audio | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Free 10,000 minutes every month | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Minimum price for video calls | $0.0039 per participant minute | $0.02 per participant minute | $0.002 per participant minute |
Minimum price for audio-only calls | $0.00099 per participant minute | $0.005 per participant minute | $0.0006 per participant min |
Advanced Firewall Control | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Free |
Cloud recording pricing |
| No accurate data available |
|
RTMP pricing |
| No accurate data available |
|
ILS pricing | Aggregated resolution based per participant pricing |
|
|
Storage pricing | Extra cost | No accurate data available |
|
features | Agora | LiveKit | Video SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
Volume Discount | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Video Conferencing |
|
|
|
Analytics | ✕
| ✓ Free | ✓ Free |
Separate pricing for video and audio | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Free 10,000 minutes every month | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Minimum price for video calls | $0.0039 per participant minute | $0.02 per participant minute | $0.002 per participant minute |
Minimum price for audio-only calls | $0.00099 per participant minute | $0.005 per participant minute | $0.0006 per participant min |
Advanced Firewall Control | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Free |
Cloud recording pricing |
| No accurate data available |
|
RTMP pricing |
| No accurate data available |
|
ILS pricing | Aggregated resolution based per participant pricing |
|
|
Storage pricing | Extra cost | No accurate data available |
|
Support comparison : Agora vs LiveKit vs Video SDK
features | Agora | LiveKit | Video SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
Support | ✕ Paid | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cost |
| Only accounts having Standard or Enterprise plan | Free |
Access to Testing | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ All paid accounts get access to testing support from Video SDK. |
Access to TAM / CS Engineer |
| ✕ No | ✓ Dedicated CS & Solution Engineers |
SLAs |
| ✕ Only accounts having Enterprise plan | ✓ Inexpensive SLA with 99.9% uptime |
features | Agora | LiveKit | Video SDK |
|---|---|---|---|
Support | ✕ Paid | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cost |
| Only accounts having Standard or Enterprise plan | Free |
Access to Testing | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ All paid accounts get access to testing support from Video SDK. |
Access to TAM / CS Engineer |
| ✕ No | ✓ Dedicated CS & Solution Engineers |
SLAs |
| ✕ Only accounts having Enterprise plan | ✓ Inexpensive SLA with 99.9% uptime |
See why customers love Video SDK
“I still remember when I was trying out the product and connected over discord with Arjun Kava, and he immediately responded. It is one of the things that we found less often. The team is super enthusiastic to make the product as next big thing. Easy integration is the beauty of it. Few lines of code and it's done.”
Ankur Chandra ,
Engineering Manager at Fynd
FAQ
