BigBlueButton vs Red5
A head-to-head comparison of BigBlueButton vs Red5, And what features does Video SDK offer?
BigBlueButton is a free and open-source web conferencing system that allows users to host and join video conferences, online meetings, and virtual classrooms. It is a popular choice for educational institutions and businesses, as it offers a wide range of features.
Red5 is a free and open-source media server that enables real-time streaming of video and audio over the internet. It is a flexible platform that can be used to build a wide variety of streaming applications on demand. However, RED5 is expensive to run for large-scale streaming due to high computing resource requirements and lack of pre-built applications.
How Video SDK make a difference?
BigBlueButton and Red5 are both open-source software solutions with different purposes and use cases. BigBlueButton is primarily designed for online learning and web conferencing, while Red5 is a media server that can handle real-time multimedia streaming, including audio and video. However, there are some key differences beetween comparison of BigBlueButton and Red5 so it's essential to be aware of their limitations and constraints.
Presenting the Video SDK - a robust and user-friendly video conferencing SDK that offers an extensive array of features, including chat, polls, break-out rooms, streaming capabilities, and RTMP out. It's the perfect solution for businesses and organizations of any size that require creating top-notch and captivating real-time communication experiences.
Here is a comparison of Video SDK with BigBlueButton vs Red5, and understand why Video SDK emerges as a much better choice for all your requirements.
Features Comparison : BigBlueButton vs Red5 vs Video SDK
features | BigBlueButton | Red5 | Video SDK |
---|---|---|---|
No. of participants (Including hosts) | ✕ Upto 100 Participants Only | ✕ Upto 250 Participants | ✓ Up to millions of viewers |
Ease of SDK Integration | ✕ Complex Integration | ✕ Complex Integration | ✓ Avg. integration takes only 2 weeks |
Adpative audio/video quality | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available |
Works behind the Firewall, Private Network | ✕ 3rd Party Deployment | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Role Management, Permissions, Policy and Templates | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Available |
Automatic video and audio track degrade due to bandwidth in-consistency | ✕ Not Available | ✕ Not 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. | ✓ Available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Virtual Background, Live Transcription & ML Middleware | ✕ Not Available | ✕ Not Available | ✓ Available |
Webhooks | ✓ Available | ✓ Available | ✓ Available |
Pricing Model | Monthly Price | Subscription Based | ✓ Usage based |
Interactive Live Streaming | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cloud Recording | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Interactive Whiteboard | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Multi-platform | ✕ No | ✓ Yes | |
Interactive Participant Support | ✕ Upto 100 | ✕ Upto 1000 | ✓ Up to 5,000 |
Mobile browser support | ✕ Limited | Limited (25%) | ✓ 90% |
Automatic audio / video degrade, re-connectivity | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ 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 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ 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 | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Full Custom roles | ✓ Yes | No | ✓ Yes |
HLS Streaming | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cost-effective | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Prebuilt SDK | ✕ Separate SDK | Separate SDK | ✓ Yes |
Fully customizable UI | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Metaverse platform support | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Session analytics | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Data Tracks | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Price Comparison : BigBlueButton vs Red5 vs Video SDK
features | BigBlueButton | Red5 | Video SDK |
---|---|---|---|
Volume Discount | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Video Conferencing |
| Developer Pro: $29.99 per month Small- to medium-sized companies: $7,500 per year Enterprise services: $57,000 High volume: Custom pricing Startup Pro: $109 |
|
Analytics | NA | ✕ No | ✓ Free |
Separate pricing for video and audio | ✕ No | ✓ No | ✓ Yes |
Free 10,000 minutes every month | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
Minimum price for video calls | Pro plan starts at $149.90 per year per license Additional Pricing (Maximum 25 users per 60 min session):
| Not Available | $0.002 per participant minute |
Minimum price for audio-only calls | Pro plan starts at $149.90 per year per license Additional Pricing (Maximum 25 users per 60 min session):
| Not Available | $0.0006 per participant min |
Advanced Firewall Control | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Free |
Cloud recording pricing | Recording storage: $19 per TB per month (for 25 participants on session) | On $3,399 per month Plan |
|
RTMP pricing | $2.5 per GB per month | On $3,399 per month Plan |
|
ILS pricing | $99 per month (For Maximum 25 users per 60 min session) | Basic live streaming: $29.99 per month Growth Pro: $89 per year or $99 per month Bulk discounts: Available for large enterprise installations" |
|
Storage pricing |
| Developer Pro: $29.99 per month Small- to medium-sized companies: $7,500 per year Enterprise services: $57,000 High volume: Custom pricing Startup Pro: $109 |
|
Support Comparison : BigBlueButton vs Red5 vs Video SDK
features | BigBlueButton | Red5 | Video SDK |
---|---|---|---|
Support | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Cost | $149/mo | Basic live streaming: $29.99 per month Growth Pro: $89 per year or $99 per month Small- to medium-sized companies: $7,500 per year Enterprise services: $57,000 per year High volume: Custom pricing | Free |
Access to Testing | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ All paid accounts get access to testing support from Video SDK. |
Access to TAM / CS Engineer | ✓ Yes | ✕ No | ✓ Dedicated CS & Solution Engineers |
SLAs | ✓ Yes, but Additional.
| ✓ Yes | ✓ Inexpensive SLA with 99.9% uptime |
Discover why Video SDK is the top choice for customers

“VideoSDK's well-structured product and efficient support team expedited integration. Their excellent user experience and well-defined documentation prompted us to switch from our previous provider.”
Kanishk Agrawal ,
Sr. Director - Technology at Judge Group
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