head to head · open source
Jitsi vs Openfire
Jitsi has 29,931 GitHub stars, 8,026 forks, 141 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Openfire has 3,064 stars, 1,404 forks, 53 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Jitsi leads on adoption by 877% (29,931 vs 3,064 stars). Jitsi is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Openfire is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Jitsi has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, Openfire 46%. Jitsi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Jitsi | Openfire | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.0K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Jitsi if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Openfire if
- You want the Openfire feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Openfire fits your workflow better
About Jitsi
Jitsi Meet is an open source video conferencing platform built on WebRTC standards, designed for privacy focused, account free video calls. It operates as a standalone web application or embeddable component, supporting both browser based and native mobile usage without requiring user accounts to join meetings. The project lives in the video communication ecosystem, competing directly with proprietary services like Zoom, Google Meet, and Slack’s built in calling.
read the full Jitsi overview →
About Openfire
Openfire is an open source real time collaboration (RTC) server for XMPP, also called Jabber, written in Java under the Apache License 2.0 and maintained as an Ignite Realtime community project for organisations and administrators that want to run their own instant messaging infrastructure.
read the full Openfire overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Jitsi or Openfire more popular?
Jitsi has 29,931 GitHub stars and Openfire has 3,064. Jitsi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jitsi and Openfire free?
Both are open source. Jitsi is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Openfire under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Jitsi and Openfire?
Jitsi is written in TypeScript and Openfire in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Jitsi or Openfire?
Choose Jitsi if you want the larger community (29,931 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Openfire if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.