What is the difference between Jitsi and Daily.co?

Jitsi is best for Anyone wanting free, open-source video conferencing, while Daily.co is best for Developers wanting to embed video calls in their app. Jitsi starts at Free and Daily.co starts at Free.

Is Jitsi or Daily.co cheaper?

Jitsi starts at Free and is free. Daily.co starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Daily.co?

Both Jitsi and Daily.co offer free tiers.

Jitsi vs Daily.co

Jitsi is free, open-source video meeting solution with no account required and self-hosting option, while Daily.co is video calling API and SDK for building custom video experiences in web and mobile apps. Jitsi is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Jitsi is built for anyone wanting free, open-source video conferencing, whereas Daily.co targets developers wanting to embed video calls in their app.

At a glance

	Jitsi	Daily.co
Best for	Anyone wanting free, open-source video conferencing	Developers wanting to embed video calls in their app
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Custom UI	—	✓
E2E Encryption	✓	—
No Account Needed	✓	—
Open Source	✓	—
Recording	—	✓
Self-Hosted	✓	—
Transcription	—	✓
Video API	—	✓

Jitsi

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Call quality depends heavily on participants' internet connections

Try Jitsi → Full review

Daily.co

Strengths

Includes Video API as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Includes Recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Free for 2K min/day — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes transcription alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
Call quality depends heavily on participants' internet connections
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Daily.co → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Jitsi and Daily.co are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Jitsi offers E2E Encryption, No Account Needed and Open Source that Daily.co lacks. Daily.co brings Custom UI, Recording and Transcription that Jitsi does not have.

Team fit: Jitsi is geared toward any size teams, while Daily.co is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Jitsi is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Daily.co is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Jitsi's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development. Daily.co's biggest strengths are: includes video api as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows. includes recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows.

Watch out for: With Jitsi, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With Daily.co, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Jitsi if...

You need a tool built for anyone wanting free, open-source video conferencing
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need E2E Encryption and No Account Needed
You care about open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Your team size fits the any size profile Jitsi is designed for

Choose Daily.co if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers wanting to embed video calls in their app
You specifically need Custom UI and Recording
You care about includes recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Daily.co is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 2k min/day