BigBlueButton
An open-source virtual classroom built for teaching, with whiteboards, polls and LMS integrations.
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 6
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton is an open-source web conferencing system designed specifically for online teaching rather than general business meetings. It includes multi-user whiteboards, shared notes, polls and quizzes, breakout rooms, shared YouTube or PeerTube videos, recordings, and learning analytics that show which students are engaged. It integrates with learning management systems such as Moodle, Canvas and others, and Greenlight is a simple room manager you can deploy alongside it. Students and teachers join from a browser, with no install. It is free software you host yourself, typically on a dedicated Ubuntu server with Docker, enough memory and CPU, and good bandwidth; many universities and schools run it, and commercial hosting companies offer managed BigBlueButton for those who don't want to operate it. The trade-off is that running it well takes real server resources and admin effort, and it is less suited to sales calls or casual meetings. It suits schools, universities and training providers that want a dedicated, self-hostable virtual classroom.
Best for: Schools, universities and trainers who want a self-hosted virtual classroom.
Pros and cons
What works
- Teaching tools built in: whiteboards, polls, analytics
- Integrates with Moodle, Canvas and other LMSs
- Free and open source
Why people leave
- Needs a dedicated, well-resourced server
- Less suited to business meetings
- Admin effort to install and upgrade
Top BigBlueButton alternatives
See all 6- 1
Jitsi Meet66.5Lighter, general-purpose open-source meetings that are easier to host.
- 2
Zoom Workplace62.6Commercial option many schools use, with less server work.
- 3
Google Meet59.6Free for education accounts and requires no hosting.
- 4
Nextcloud Talk57.2Self-hosted calls and chat alongside Nextcloud files, for general meetings.
- 5GaGalene55.3
A light open-source server that handles lectures with many students.
Why people left BigBlueButton
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
No switching stories yet. If you moved away from BigBlueButton, review the app you switched to and tell us why.
Reviews
No approved reviews yet. How we verify reviewers
Write a review of BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton: common questions
Is BigBlueButton free?
Yes. BigBlueButton is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.
Is BigBlueButton open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at bigbluebutton/bigbluebutton. You can also run it on your own server.
What platforms does BigBlueButton run on?
BigBlueButton is available for Web and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to BigBlueButton?
The highest-ranked BigBlueButton alternatives right now are Jitsi Meet, Zoom Workplace and Google Meet. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.