Hosting your own video conferencing in 2026: the complete guide

Self-hosting your video conferencing means taking back control of your data, your infrastructure and your costs. In 2026 that is no longer a project reserved for large IT departments: open source solutions install in minutes on a modest server. But they are not equal in ease, in resources required or in day-to-day maintenance. This guide compares the three main options (BigBlueButton, Jitsi Meet and Vuisio), step by step.

Why self-host video conferencing in 2026?

Three reasons converge to make self-hosting an increasingly common choice.

Regulatory pressure

The French data protection authority has advised against Zoom and Teams in higher education since 2021 (IT-Connect). Decree 2025-1165 of 5 December 2025 requires public secondary schools to use tools compliant with the ministry’s security and interoperability standards (Légifrance). And since January 2026 the French public sector has banned Zoom, Teams, Webex and Google Meet in favour of the sovereign Visio platform run by DINUM (CX Foundation). Self-hosting is the most direct answer to those constraints: the data stays on your servers, under your control alone.

Cost control

Proprietary cloud solutions bill per user, per minute or per feature. Zoom Pro costs 13.33 USD per user per month (zoom.us), and costs rise with add-ons (storage, large meetings, telephony). When self-hosted, the cost is fixed: the server and the administration time, whatever the number of participants. We ran that calculation in our comparison of the real cost of video conferencing (BBB, Jitsi, Zoom, Vuisio).

Technical control

With a self-hosted open source tool, you can audit the code, customise the interface, integrate video into your existing systems (LMS, intranet, patient portal) and guarantee that nothing leaves your network perimeter.

Which solutions can be self-hosted?

Three open source solutions dominate the landscape in 2026. Each has a very different philosophy and set of requirements.

BigBlueButton: the veteran of education

BigBlueButton is the historic choice in teaching. Created in 2007 by Blindside Networks (Canada), it is part of the French interministerial free software base and used by the higher education ministry (Wikipedia). Its strengths are native Moodle integration since version 4.0 (Moodle) and its teaching features (whiteboard, polls, breakout rooms).

Jitsi Meet: simplicity

Jitsi Meet is the easiest to pick up: a link, a click, a meeting. Created in Strasbourg in 2003, the project is now controlled by 8x8 (United States) (TechTarget). Its architecture (JVB in Java, Prosody in Lua, Jicofo in Java) is lighter than BBB but still multi-component.

Vuisio: the sovereign Rust SFU

Vuisio is the most recent of the three. Published in France by Geezot, it rests on an SFU written in Rust that relays streams without transcribing or re-encoding them (docs.vuis.io). Its core is published under AGPL 3.0, and the interactive installer deploys a complete instance in a few minutes (docs.vuis.io).

What hardware does it take?

This is usually the first question. The answer varies considerably by solution.

Criterion	BigBlueButton 3.0	Jitsi Meet	Vuisio
Supported OS	Ubuntu 22.04 only (BBB docs)	Debian, Ubuntu (Docker recommended) (Jitsi handbook)	Debian 11+, Ubuntu 22.04+ (docs.vuis.io)
Minimum RAM	16 GB (BBB docs)	8 GB recommended, 4 GB minimum (Jitsi handbook)	1 GB tested, for ten participants
Minimum CPU	8 cores (BBB docs)	4 cores recommended	2 cores tested
Storage	500 GB (recordings) (BBB docs)	Varies (Jibri if recording)	Proportional to usage
Bare metal recommended	Yes (FreeSWITCH copes badly with shared CPU) (BBB docs)	No (VPS accepted, dedicated CPU recommended)	No (VPS, VM, bare metal)
Bandwidth	250 Mbit/s symmetric minimum (BBB FAQ)	Not specified (recommendation: enough throughput)	Proportional to participants
LXC containers	Not documented	Docker required in most cases	Yes (native runtime, systemd services) (docs.vuis.io)
Estimated capacity	~200 per server (BBB FAQ)	100 to 300 per videobridge (Meetrix)	450 to 500 (6 vCPU, under 2 GB of RAM)

The difference is striking. A server that runs BBB comfortably (16 GB RAM, 8 cores, bare metal) costs between 70 and 140 USD a month (Webhostingzone). The same budget rents several VPSes able to run Vuisio with higher capacity (we go through that head-to-head in our Vuisio versus BigBlueButton comparison).

What installation looks like

BigBlueButton

Installation goes through the bbb-install.sh script, which automatically configures nginx, FreeSWITCH, Kurento, Redis, MongoDB, Meteor, Akka, Etherpad and LibreOffice (in a Docker container) (BBB architecture docs). The script is robust but the process is long, and the slightest system incompatibility (another web server installed, port 80 taken, the wrong Ubuntu version) can make it fail.

The server has to be clean (no other software installed) and dedicated (nothing but BBB on it) (BBB install docs). If you share the server with other applications, port conflicts and CPU contention can cause intermittent audio problems that are hard to diagnose.

Jitsi Meet

Installation is typically through Docker Compose or Debian packages. The stack includes the web frontend, Prosody (the XMPP server), Jicofo (conference focus) and JVB (the videobridge) (Jitsi handbook). It is simpler than BBB, but configuring Prosody (certificates, virtual domains, authentication) remains a common friction point in the community.

For recording, Jibri has to be installed separately, which adds a headless Chrome container and ffmpeg with 8 GB of additional RAM per recording session (Jitsi handbook). The official documentation advises against running Jibri on the same server as Jitsi Meet.

Vuisio

Installation goes through an interactive installer (a text interface) that detects the server, proposes a sizing preset (lowpower, standard, large), configures nginx, obtains the TLS certificate, applies system settings (sysctl, frequency governor, firewall), generates the secrets and checks service health (docs.vuis.io).

curl -fsSLO https://releases.vuis.io/latest/vuisio-installer
chmod +x ./vuisio-installer
sudo ./vuisio-installer install

Two runtimes are available: Docker (the default, and the simplest) or native (systemd services, maximum performance, works inside LXC containers) (docs.vuis.io).

The TLS certificate is obtained automatically through Actalis (a European, Italian certificate authority) by default, or through Let’s Encrypt, or with your own certificate (docs.vuis.io). The default STUN server is European (stun.nextcloud.com:443).

Non-interactive installation is possible through a TOML answers file, which allows automation (CI, batch deployments) (docs.vuis.io).

Step	BigBlueButton	Jitsi Meet	Vuisio
Prerequisites	Clean, dedicated Ubuntu 22.04, ports 80/443 free	Debian/Ubuntu, Docker or packages	Debian 11+ or Ubuntu 22.04+
Install command	bbb-install.sh (automated script)	Docker Compose or apt packages	vuisio-installer install (interactive)
TLS	Let’s Encrypt (built into the script)	Let’s Encrypt (manual or scripted)	Actalis (European) by default, automatic
Estimated time	30 to 60 min (if all goes well)	15 to 30 min	5 to 10 min
Non-interactive install	Not documented	Docker Compose configurable	--non-interactive --answers file.toml
Post-install check	bbb-conf --check	Manual verification	vuisio doctor

What day-to-day administration looks like

This is where the gaps widen most, and it is the most underestimated cost.

BigBlueButton

A bbb-conf --status lists more than ten services. Each has its own logs, its own failure modes and its own update needs. The documentation recommends monitoring CPU continuously (a critical threshold of 70 %, beyond which audio degrades) (BBB FAQ). Major upgrades (2.x to 3.0) require starting again from a fresh Ubuntu 22.04 server and migrating recordings by hand (BBB install docs). A field report published by Octopuce on a 167-user test showed that turning on the shared whiteboard crashed Meteor on both client and server (Octopuce).

Jitsi Meet

Administration is lighter than BBB but still multi-component. Prosody can only use a single CPU core, which makes it a potential bottleneck (Jitsi handbook). Scaling goes through shards (each shard being Prosody plus Jicofo plus N videobridges) behind an HAProxy. And 8x8 provides no support for self-hosted installations (8x8 FAQ).

Vuisio

Administration goes through a single CLI (docs.vuis.io):

Command	Function
vuisio status	Service status
vuisio start / stop / restart	Service control
vuisio logs [-f] [service]	Logs (live follow)
vuisio doctor	Automatic diagnostics
vuisio upgrade	Atomic update with automatic rollback
vuisio secrets	Show or rotate the secrets in the encrypted vault
vuisio module add/remove	Manage modules (lobby, whiteboard, compat-api)

Updates are atomic: a single command, with automatic rollback if the health checks fail (docs.vuis.io). No OS reinstall between major versions. Automatic updates are configurable (daily or weekly, at a set hour).

Criterion	BigBlueButton	Jitsi Meet	Vuisio
Services to watch	10+ (nginx, FreeSWITCH, Kurento, Redis, MongoDB, Meteor, Akka, Etherpad, bbb-web, bbb-webrtc-sfu, LibreOffice in Docker)	4+ (web, Prosody, Jicofo, JVB, optionally Jibri)	2 plus modules (SFU and orchestrator)
Updates	bbb-install.sh script, OS change between major versions	Docker pull or apt upgrade	vuisio upgrade (atomic, automatic rollback)
Diagnostics	bbb-conf --check (log scan)	Manual verification	vuisio doctor (HTTP probes on the services)
Official support	Community (forums, GitHub)	No 8x8 support for self-hosting	Dedicated support (on-premise plan)
Monitoring	To configure yourself	To configure yourself	Prometheus and Grafana built in (optional) (docs.vuis.io)

What security for self-hosted data?

Self-hosting guarantees that data stays on your server, but security also depends on what the software does with it. It is also a pillar of GDPR compliance in education and training.

Criterion	BigBlueButton	Jitsi Meet	Vuisio
Encryption in transit	DTLS-SRTP (WebRTC standard)	DTLS-SRTP	DTLS-SRTP
Encryption at rest	Not documented	Not documented	AES-256-GCM, key supplied by the operator (docs.vuis.io)
Server user account	Yes (Greenlight, MongoDB)	Yes (Prosody)	No (ephemeral numeric identifier) (docs.vuis.io)
Cookies	Yes (Meteor session, Greenlight)	Yes (Prosody session)	None imposed by the core (docs.vuis.io)
Room persistence	MongoDB plus Redis plus disk	Prosody plus files	Optional (Redis). Without Redis, rooms are ephemeral and in memory (docs.vuis.io)
Automatic cleanup	Recordings deleted after 14 days by default	Not documented	Data erased when the room closes (docs.vuis.io)
Secrets	Configuration files in the clear	Configuration files	AES-256-GCM encrypted vault, vuisio secrets command (docs.vuis.io)

And if you would rather not self-host

Self-hosting is not for everyone. If you have no technical team, if you do not want to run a server, or if you would rather focus your resources on your own work, a sovereign cloud is the answer.

Network and firewall: the traps to avoid

Video conferencing rests on WebRTC, a real-time protocol with specific network requirements. Ignoring them is the most frequent cause of a failed installation.

The ports to open

Every solution needs at least TCP port 443 (HTTPS) for signalling and to load the web interface. The difference lies in the UDP ports used to carry media (real-time audio and video).

BigBlueButton uses UDP ports 16384 to 32768 (FreeSWITCH plus Kurento) (BBB customisation docs). That is a wide range and can be a problem in restrictive network environments. Jitsi uses UDP port 10000 by default for the videobridge. Vuisio uses UDP ports from 16384 upwards by default.

The NAT and TURN problem

When a participant sits behind a restrictive corporate network (firewall, proxy, symmetric NAT), the direct WebRTC connection can fail. That is where a TURN server (Traversal Using Relays around NAT) comes in, relaying media traffic over TCP 443 as a last resort.

BigBlueButton bundles a TURN server (coturn). Jitsi needs a separate TURN configuration. Vuisio lets you configure a TURN server in the installer (turn_url and turn_secret fields in the answers file) (docs.vuis.io). Vuisio’s default STUN server is European (stun.nextcloud.com:443), where BigBlueButton and Jitsi often point at Google servers.

Bandwidth

Video conferencing uses bandwidth in proportion to the number of participants and the active streams. As a rule of thumb, budget 0.5 to 1.5 Mbit/s per participant depending on resolution. BigBlueButton recommends at least 250 Mbit/s symmetric for the server (BBB FAQ). For the other solutions, size according to your expected usage.

One important point: Vuisio’s SFU prioritises sending only the video of active speakers in large meetings, which naturally limits bandwidth consumption.

Backups and disaster recovery

A self-hosted video server potentially holds sensitive data: configuration, secrets, recordings, chat history. A backup strategy is essential.

What to back up

For BigBlueButton: the configuration files (/etc/bigbluebutton/, /usr/share/bbb-web/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties), the recordings (/var/bigbluebutton/published/), and the MongoDB database. That is a set spread across several directories and services.

For Jitsi: the Prosody configuration, the Docker Compose files or the package configuration files, and the Jibri recordings if enabled.

For Vuisio: the documentation covers system settings and backups in a dedicated section (docs.vuis.io). Secrets are stored in an AES-256-GCM encrypted vault, preserved automatically across updates (docs.vuis.io). Room data (if Redis is enabled) is encrypted at rest. The configuration is centralised, which makes backups simpler.

Recovering from an incident

BigBlueButton: after a server failure you have to reinstall BBB on a new Ubuntu server and restore the configuration files and recordings. That can take several hours.

Jitsi: recovery means rebuilding the Docker Compose stack or reinstalling the packages, then restoring the Prosody configuration.

Vuisio: the installer supports resuming after an interruption. An interrupted installation can be relaunched safely: verification, repair and resumption take the same code path as a fresh install (docs.vuis.io). The --dry-run option shows the plan without changing anything.

A checklist before you start

Before deploying your video conferencing server, check these points.

Infrastructure. Do you have a server (physical, VPS or VM) with a fixed public IP, a domain name pointing at that IP, and a network connection with enough bandwidth? For Vuisio, a VPS at €5 a month can be enough for a small organisation.

Network. Are the necessary ports (TCP 443, UDP media) open in your firewall? If your users sit behind restrictive networks, do you have a TURN server?

Domain and DNS. Do you have a domain (or subdomain) dedicated to video, for example meet.yourdomain.com? Does the DNS record point at your server’s IP?

TLS certificate. Vuisio generates it automatically (Actalis or Let’s Encrypt). For BBB and Jitsi, plan the configuration.

Backups. Do you have a backup plan for the configuration and the recordings?

Sizing. How many simultaneous meetings and participants do you expect? That determines the choice of server and of solution.

LMS integration. If you use Moodle, check that your chosen solution is compatible with the BigBlueButton API (BBB natively, Vuisio through compat-api) or with LTI (Jitsi).

Skills. Do you have an administrator able to run 12 Linux services (BBB), 4 Docker services (Jitsi), or a CLI with automatic updates (Vuisio)?

Vuisio offers a sovereign cloud hosted in France, running exactly the same software as the self-hosted version. The free plan limits neither length nor the number of participants. The Pro plan at €29 excl. VAT per host per month adds recording, analytics and voice anonymisation. No infrastructure to run, no updates, no SSL certificate. And if you change your mind, you can move to self-hosting at any time: it is the same software.

Neither BigBlueButton nor Jitsi offers a sovereign cloud hosted in France. The free BBB server in Moodle is limited (60 min, 25 participants) and operated by Blindside Networks in Canada (BigBlueButton Host). Jitsi JaaS is operated by 8x8 in the United States (8x8 FAQ).

How to choose

Choose BigBlueButton if you are in education, you have a dedicated systems administrator, heavy infrastructure does not worry you, and native Moodle integration is your absolute priority.

Choose Jitsi if you want the simplest solution for ad-hoc meetings with no LMS, you have basic Linux skills, and sovereignty relative to 8x8 is not a blocking criterion.

Choose Vuisio if you want the lightest solution, the easiest to administer, the most sovereign (French vendor, European STUN, European TLS, encryption at rest), Moodle-compatible through the BBB API, and you would rather have a clean CLI than manage twelve independent services.

Choose the Vuisio sovereign cloud if you do not want to self-host at all but you do need sovereignty. It is the same software, hosted in France, with no infrastructure to run.

In summary

Self-hosting video conferencing in 2026 is within reach of any organisation with access to a server. The question is no longer “can it be done?” but “which solution takes the least resources and maintenance for the best result?”.

BigBlueButton opened the way but remains heavy (16 GB of RAM, 12 services, Ubuntu only). Jitsi is lighter but controlled by an American company. Vuisio combines the lightness of Rust, French sovereignty, an installer that does everything in five minutes, and a sovereign cloud for those who would rather not run a server at all.

Try Vuisio on the free sovereign cloud, or install it on your own server in five minutes.