# BigBlueButton vs element-web

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | BigBlueButton | element-web |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 75/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 25 in Video Conferencing | #2 of 33 in Communication |
| GitHub stars | 9 258 | 13 621 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +31 | +119 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 ✓ | 17 |
| Latest release | v3.0.40 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.12.33 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

element-web scores 75/100 against 73/100 for BigBlueButton, so it is the safer default.

BigBlueButton ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 17 for element-web.

If you want the quickest setup, element-web is easier to run; BigBlueButton needs more configuration.

element-web is growing faster right now (+119 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [BigBlueButton](https://selfhost.directory/project/bigbluebutton) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/bigbluebutton.md)
- [element-web](https://selfhost.directory/project/element-web) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/element-web.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/bigbluebutton-vs-element-web