Open Source Agora Alternative

Why choose an open-source Agora alternative

Agora provides real-time communication as a metered cloud API: per-minute pricing for audio, video, and streaming, using SDKs that connect to Agora's global network of servers. That model works until usage climbs or an app needs to run inside a private network, at which point per-minute cost and dependency on Agora's infrastructure become the constraint. A self-hosted real-time platform removes both by putting the media servers under your own control.

What to look for

Real-time audio and video infrastructure has to handle three jobs together: signaling to track who's in a call, an SFU (selective forwarding unit) that routes media efficiently instead of connecting every participant to every other one, and client SDKs across web, mobile, and native apps. Recording, transcription, and livestream output (RTMP or HLS) are common additions that not every open-source project includes, so the actual feature list needs checking against what the app requires rather than assuming general video-calling support covers it.

LiveKit as an Agora alternative

LiveKit is a WebRTC SFU with SDKs for JavaScript, React, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, and server languages, covering the same core surface as Agora's SDK lineup. It can be self-hosted with Docker or a Kubernetes Helm chart, or run on the managed LiveKit Cloud, so a team can start on the hosted option and move to self-hosted infrastructure later without a client-side rewrite. LiveKit Egress handles server-side recording to MP4 or HLS and streaming out to services like YouTube and Twitch over RTMP, covering most of what Agora's cloud recording and live-broadcast features offer.

Because LiveKit is self-hosted by default, cost shifts from per-minute usage fees to server capacity, an arrangement that favors apps with high or unpredictable call volume; LiveKit Cloud itself, for teams that prefer managed hosting, runs 40 to 60 percent cheaper per participant-minute than Agora's published pricing.