Zoom vs Jitsi Meet
Self-hosted for $4/mo on hetzner CAX11, versus $14-$22/user/mo on Zoom.
Side-by-side
| Zoom | Jitsi Meet (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $14-$22/user/mo | $4.13/mo flat (any team size) |
| Hosting | Zoom's servers | Your VPS (hetzner CAX11) |
| Data ownership | Zoom controls the data | Your disk, your encryption |
| Source code | Closed | Open (Apache-2.0) |
| Customization | API + integrations only | Full source access; modify freely |
| Maintenance burden | Zero | Backups + updates (manual) |
| Health score (ossreplace) | — | 77 / 100 |
Why teams leave Zoom
- 40-minute cap on free tier with 3+ participants
- Per-host licensing for teams
- Recording storage tiered separately
- Cloud-only, calls and recordings live on Zoom
Jitsi Meet answers this by: Jitsi Meet and BigBlueButton give the same browser-based video calls, fully self-hostable, no time limits.
The cost math
Assumes 5-person team using Zoom at the midpoint price ($18/user/mo).
| Period | Zoom | Jitsi Meet on hetzner | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $90 | $4.13 | $85.87 |
| Yearly | $1080 | $49.56 | $1030.44 |
| 3 years | $3,240 | $149 | $3,091 |
Deploy Jitsi Meet now
One-click deploys at the cheapest provider for this workload:
Affiliate disclosure — these links may earn ossreplace a commission at no cost to you.
Common questions
Is Jitsi Meet a good alternative to Zoom?
Jitsi Meet is an open-source, self-hostable alternative to Zoom with an ossreplace health score of 77/100 — a composite of project activity, maturity, community, security, and adoption. It runs on your own hetzner VPS from $4.13/mo with full source access under the Apache-2.0 license, versus Zoom's $14–22/user/mo hosted plans.
How much cheaper is Jitsi Meet than Zoom?
A 5-person team pays about $90/mo on Zoom. Self-hosting Jitsi Meet on hetzner CAX11 costs a flat $4.13/mo regardless of team size — roughly $3,091 less over three years (95% lower).
Is Jitsi Meet hard to self-host?
Jitsi Meet self-hosts on your own VPS. You handle the install, backups, and updates yourself in exchange for full data ownership and no per-seat fees.
Do you keep control of your data with Jitsi Meet vs Zoom?
Yes. Because Jitsi Meet runs on your own server, the data lives on your disk under your encryption. With Zoom, Zoom controls the hosting, storage, and access.