Independent-fit framework with a clear MediaSFU disclosure
Buyer's guide / Updated July 2026
Best LiveKit Alternatives in 2026
LiveKit’s open-source core is excellent, but building a product on it means assembling telephony, recording pipelines, UI, and agent workflows yourself — and LiveKit Cloud usage costs grow with session minutes. Here are six alternatives across managed platforms and self-host options.
6 credible options4 decision lensesDirect source links
Third-party rates are published or advertised figures. Verify them against current LiveKit pricingand model your own traffic, providers, support, and migration effort.
Concrete volume lens
At 100,000 agent-session minutes / month
Use the same published assumptions as the detailed comparison calculator.
Scope: Compares published usage lines before LiveKit plan fees, included allowances, WebRTC transfer, inference, telephony, observability, or egress.
Adjust the exact workloadWhy teams reopen the shortlist
Validate these buying pressures before replacing a platform.
You want a product surface (meetings UI, recording, transcripts, telephony) instead of assembling primitives.
Cloud session-minute costs compound across agents and participants.
You need SIP/PSTN, translation, or widgets without building the integration layer.
Shortlist by the outcome you need
Start with fit, then validate price and implementation detail.
Comparable at a glance
6 LiveKit alternatives worth evaluating
Pricing is a starting signal, not a total-cost estimate.
| Option | Best fit | Pricing posture | Trade-off to validate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01MediaSFUComplete stack | Teams that want LiveKit-class media control with the product layer already built | Audio $0.10 per 1K minutes; video from $0.375 per 1K minutes; agent infra $0.002/min; BYOK providers stay direct. | Core is not open source like LiveKit’s |
| 02Daily | Fast integration of managed video rooms | Published rates around $4 per 1K video participant minutes; audio lower. | Per-minute costs at scale |
| 03Agora | Large-scale global audio/video with edge presence | Published from ~$0.99 per 1K audio minutes and ~$3.99 per 1K HD video minutes. | Pricing complexity across features |
| 04100ms | Template-driven video experiences (edtech, events) | Published rates around $4 per 1K video minutes; audio lower. | Less flexible for custom media pipelines |
| 05Jitsi (self-hosted) | Free, self-hosted meetings where you control everything | Free open source; you pay hosting and ops. | Ops burden is real at scale |
| 06Vonage Video (OpenTok) | Enterprises with compliance requirements | Usage-based enterprise CPaaS pricing. | Higher costs |
Strengths, trade-offs, and proof paths
Open the official source for every candidate before committing budget.
01
MediaSFU pickComplete-stack recommendation
MediaSFU
Managed real-time platform with product surface included: rooms, telephony, agents, translation, widgets
Transparent disclosure: MediaSFU is our platform. We keep this entry factual and provide published pricing paths so you can verify the fit.
Why it makes the shortlist
- Complete meeting features out of the box: breakout rooms, whiteboard, polls, recording, chat
- Native SIP/PSTN, cloud phone, campaigns, and AI-human handoff
- Live translation with translated audio playback (not just captions)
- 10 SDKs with prebuilt UI or headless control; self-hosting options available
Validate before choosing
- Core is not open source like LiveKit’s
- Smaller open-source community
02
Shortlist option
Daily
Managed WebRTC with prebuilt UI and bots
Why it makes the shortlist
- Polished prebuilt components
- Good docs and DX
- Pipecat ecosystem for voice AI
Validate before choosing
- Per-minute costs at scale
- Less low-level media control
03
Shortlist option
Agora
Global real-time network at scale
Why it makes the shortlist
- Massive global infrastructure
- Broad platform SDK coverage
- Proven at consumer scale
Validate before choosing
- Pricing complexity across features
- Proprietary stack, less transparency
04
Shortlist option
100ms
Managed live video with templates
Why it makes the shortlist
- Fast template-based setup
- Good mobile SDKs
Validate before choosing
- Less flexible for custom media pipelines
- Smaller ecosystem
05
Shortlist option
Jitsi (self-hosted)
Open-source video conferencing you run yourself
Why it makes the shortlist
- Fully open source
- No per-minute fees
- Mature meeting UI included
Validate before choosing
- Ops burden is real at scale
- Less suited as an app-embedding SDK platform
06
Shortlist option
Vonage Video (OpenTok)
Enterprise-grade video API
Why it makes the shortlist
- Mature, compliant, enterprise support
- Long production track record
Validate before choosing
- Higher costs
- Aging developer experience
An honest counterweight
When staying with LiveKit makes sense
Migration should produce enough upside to justify the operational work.
- Open-source self-hosting is a hard requirement and you have the team to run it.
- You are building a deeply custom media product where primitives are the point.
How to evaluate the finalists
Product surface
Count every additional product required for calls, meetings, widgets, translation, and retained artifacts.
Total economics
Model platform, provider, carrier, storage, support, and engineering costs at your real volume.
Team fit
Test operator and non-developer paths as carefully as the API and SDK experience.
Operational control
Validate ownership of numbers, keys, domains, recordings, webhooks, and migration data.
Frequently asked questions
01What is the cheapest LiveKit Cloud alternative?
On published managed rates, MediaSFU is the lowest on this list ($0.10 per 1K audio minutes, video from $0.375 per 1K). Self-hosting LiveKit or Jitsi can be cheaper on paper at scale if you already carry the ops cost.
02Which alternatives include telephony (SIP/PSTN)?
MediaSFU includes native SIP/PSTN workflows, cloud phone, and AI phone agents. On LiveKit, Daily, Agora, and 100ms, telephony is an integration project or add-on.
03Can I get LiveKit-style agent workflows elsewhere?
MediaSFU runs AI agents (voice, vision, multimodal) at $0.002/min infrastructure with BYOK providers; Daily’s Pipecat is another strong agents path. Compare agent-minute economics, not just media rates.
04Is open source a must-have?
If yes, LiveKit and Jitsi are the honest answers. If what you actually need is control plus low cost, managed platforms with headless SDKs and self-host options (like MediaSFU) often get there with far less ops work.
Validate MediaSFU against a real workload.
Run a live experience, inspect the pricing model, or open the detailed head-to-head guide before you commit.