Jitsi Meet vs Whereby
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Whereby
Browser-based video meetings with permanent room links
Where they differ
- Jitsi Meet is free. Whereby starts at $10.99 per month for 1 host, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually).
- Only Jitsi Meet lists macOS, Windows, Linux and Android apps.
- Jitsi Meet is open source, self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Whereby also covers noise cancellation, whiteboard and file sharing.
At a glance
| Jitsi Meet | Whereby | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $10.99 per month for 1 host, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually) |
| Free plan | Free and open source, both as the hosted meet.jit.si service and as software to run on your own server. On meet.jit.si the person creating a room must sign in. | 1 host, 1 room URL, up to 4 attendees per meeting and meetings limited to 30 minutes. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of the Business plan |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 8x8, Inc. | Whereby AS |
| Price read from | jitsi.org | whereby.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Jitsi Meet
- Quick video calls where guests should not need an account
- Organizations that want to self-host open-source video conferencing
- Developers who want to customize or embed the meeting client
Whereby
- Consultants, coaches and therapists who meet clients in one fixed room
- Guests who should join from a browser without an account or download
- Small teams that want simple per-host pricing
- Product teams adding video calls through the separate Embedded API
Worth knowing
Jitsi Meet
- Since August 24, 2023, the person creating a room on meet.jit.si must sign in with an account.
- End-to-end encryption is opt-in, needs a Chromium-based browser or the desktop client, and covers audio, video and screen sharing but not chat or polls.
- Neither the Jitsi team nor 8x8 sells commercial support; self-hosters rely on the community forum or outside providers.
- Embedding meetings in another app is directed to 8x8's separate Jitsi as a Service, which is free up to 25 endpoints and paid beyond that.
Whereby
- The Free plan allows 1 host, 4 attendees per meeting and 30-minute meetings; Business requires at least 3 hosts.
- There is an iOS app but no Android or desktop app; Android users join in Chrome, and screen sharing and recording work only on computers.
- End-to-end encryption is listed only for small peer-to-peer rooms.
- The about page says product and engineering have focused entirely on Whereby Embedded, the API product, since 2023.
Key features
Jitsi Meet
- Meetings at a simple URL
- A meeting is a room name on a URL. On meet.jit.si the first participant signs in with a Google, Facebook or GitHub account; everyone else joins without one.
- Screen sharing and in-call tools
- Share a desktop or presentation, chat with emoji, raise a hand, edit a shared Etherpad document and play a YouTube video to all attendees.
- Self-hosting
- Stable and nightly Ubuntu and Debian packages and a Docker setup let you run your own instance, with your own authentication and moderation rules.
- Encryption
- Audio and video are encrypted in transit with DTLS-SRTP by default. End-to-end encryption can be switched on in Chromium-based browsers and the desktop client.
- Recording, streaming and dial-in
- Conferences can be live streamed to YouTube and recorded, and joined by phone. Self-hosted servers need the Jibri and Jigasi components for these.
- APIs and SDKs
- An external API embeds a meeting in a web page, and the app can be compiled as an SDK for Android and iOS. The code is 100% open source.
Whereby
- Rooms that run in the browser
- Calls run in desktop and mobile browsers over WebRTC with no download needed, and guests join a fixed room URL without creating an account.
- Collaboration during calls
- Screen sharing, live chat with reactions and file sharing, breakout groups, and embedded Miro boards and Google Docs for working together.
- Recording
- The Pro plan lists unlimited recording, and the Meetings plan comparison lists local recording, which saves a call to your own device.
- Room controls
- Rooms can be locked so the host decides who joins, with background effects and noise reduction in calls and a custom waiting room on the plan comparison.
- Branding and shared rooms
- Pro adds custom room colors, logos and backgrounds. Business adds a custom subdomain, shared rooms, and Flex rooms that run without a licensed host present.
- Whereby Embedded API
- A separately priced API and SDK for adding video calls to your own product: free to test, then $9.99 a month plus usage, with 2,000 participant minutes included.
Plans
Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet$0
Free meetings on the hosted meet.jit.si service, and free open-source software for self-hosting. The project is funded by 8x8.
Whereby
Free$0
1 host, 1 room URL, 4 attendees per meeting and meetings of up to 30 minutes.
Pro$10.99
per month, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually)
For one host: 3 room URLs, 100 attendees per meeting, no time limit, custom branding and unlimited recording.
Business$13.99
per host / month, billed monthly ($139.90 billed annually)
Minimum 3 hosts. Unlimited room URLs, 200 attendees per meeting, shared and Flex rooms, and a custom subdomain.
Ways to pay less
Jitsi Meet
No public discounts listed.
Whereby
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
The pricing page lists a 17% saving on annual plans: Pro is $109.90 billed annually against $10.99 a month, and Business is $139.90 per host against $13.99 a month.
- Nonprofit
20% off Pro and Business for nonprofits
Registered nonprofits and charities can claim 20% off monthly or annual Whereby Meetings Pro and Business plans by emailing support, per a 2023 Whereby announcement.
