$0
Starting price
Open source, self-hosted
Report
Should I Use BigBlueButton - Open Source Web Conferencing?
BigBlueButton is an open source virtual classroom software. This platform was developed for virtual learning and education. Try it today!
Depends
DependsGreat fit for schools, universities, and tutors who want a free, teaching-focused virtual classroom and have someone to run a server.
Free, open-source virtual classroom built for teaching — strong with Moodle/Canvas, but you run the servers yourself.
Confidence: Medium
Yes
Free tier
Free hosted service for Moodle users
~500,000 users
Proven scale
Baden-Württemberg, Germany (2020)
Value for money
5
Free, open source, no license fees
Ease of use
3
Easy for students; self-hosting is the hard part
Feature depth
4
Breakout rooms, recording, lock settings, LMS integrations
Support quality
3
Community docs; paid hosting via Blindside Networks
Security posture
3
No CVEs found; 2,751 leaked domain-user credentials
Pros
Cons
Gotchas
- mediumPer-server capacity is limited; scaling out means running more servers
- mediumYou own updates, backups, and uptime — no vendor support line on free edition⁴
- mediumCommercial hosting runs through partners like Blindside Networks; pricing not public
- lowFree Moodle hosting tier has conditions; read limits before depending on it³
Best for
- Schools and universities
- Tutors teaching online
- Moodle and Canvas users
- Privacy-focused orgs with server admins
Not for
- Small teams wanting one-click business meetings
- Anyone with no Linux server admin skills
- Buyers needing polished support SLAs
- Casual users — free Zoom/Meet tiers are simpler
Companies that use it
- Baden-Württemberg (German state, ~500,000 users)²
- Universidad Galileo
- American Technical Publishers
Pricing
Self-hosted (open source)
$0
- Full platform
- You supply and manage servers
Free hosted (Moodle)
$0
- Hosted service for Moodle users
- Conditions apply
Commercial hosting
Not published
- Via partners such as Blindside Networks
Security
No product vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; 2,751 leaked user credentials are tied to the domain via infostealer data.
- 2,751 compromised credentials associated with bigbluebutton.orgHudson Rock lists 2,751 leaked credentials for users of the domain — reflects user-side infections, not a flaw in the software itself.⁹
What users say
Community users treat it as the go-to open-source option for teaching; general meeting users rarely adopt it.
“While searching moodle plugin for Jitsi I discovered BigBlueButton”
“This is a pretty good open source alternative.”
“Can deal with conferences up to 15/20 persons.”
Alternatives
Compare BigBlueButton - Open Source Web Conferencing with each alternative.
Jitsi Meet
Free open-source meetings without self-hosting headaches
Zoom
Paid but plug-and-play; better for business meetings
BigBlueButton - Open Source Web Conferencing vs ZoomGoogle Meet
Simple browser meetings inside Google Workspace
Blindside Networks
Paid BBB hosting if you want the software minus admin work
BigBlueButton - Open Source Web Conferencing vs Blindside NetworksFull analysis
Based on ~20 public sources; official docs and community threads dominate; no formal review-site ratings found.
Sources
- BigBlueButton official sitebigbluebutton.orgofficial
- BBB Case Study: Baden-Württembergbigbluebutton.orgofficial
- Free BigBlueButton Service for Moodlebigbluebutton.orgofficial
news
- Interoperable Europe Portal listinginteroperable-europe.ec.europa.euofficial
- Is anyone using BigBlueButton? — Redditreddit.comreview
- Best web conferencing software for a small non-profit? — Spiceworkscommunity.spiceworks.comreview
- Zoom alternative discussion — Pixls forumdiscuss.pixls.usreview
- Hudson Rock domain reporthudsonrock.comsecurity
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