BigBlueButton vs Galène: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to Zoom. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| BigBlueButton | Galène | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Conferencing | Video Conferencing |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 5k | 2k |
| Tech stack | Java, HTML5, WebRTC | Go, WebRTC |
| Replaces | Zoom | Zoom |
BigBlueButton has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
BigBlueButton
Education-focused video conferencing, an alternative to Zoom.
Pros
- The most complete option for educational use cases
Things to consider
- Production installation is more complex than a simple docker-compose
Galène
Ultra-lightweight video conferencing server, an alternative to Zoom on modest hardware.
Pros
- Runs on much more modest servers than Jitsi/BBB
Things to consider
- More basic interface, fewer features than Zoom
Key features
BigBlueButton
- Multi-user collaborative whiteboard
- Breakout rooms
- Polls and class recording
Galène
- Extremely lightweight (a single Go binary)
- Supports hundreds of participants per room
- Local session recording