# BigBlueButton vs Zulip

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

| | BigBlueButton | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 25 in Video Conferencing | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 9 259 | 26 134 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +32 | +191 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 ✓ | 6 |
| Latest release | v3.0.40 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Zulip scores 82/100 against 73/100 for BigBlueButton, so it is the safer default.

BigBlueButton ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Zulip.

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

Zulip is growing faster right now (+191 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [Discourse vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/discourse-vs-zulip)
- [Rocket.Chat vs Zulip](https://selfhost.directory/compare/rocketchat-vs-zulip)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/bigbluebutton-vs-zulip