Comparison

BigBlueButton vs Gather

On the evidence we track, Gather leads this comparison with a composite score of 68/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

BigBlueButton full profile →Gather full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

BigBlueButton57

★Gather68

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	BigBlueButton	GatherLeader
vioscaleAI score	57 / 100low · 44%	68 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	low
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	-	$12
Transparentpricing.transparent	-	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	8	4
Security
Certificationssecurity.certifications	-	SOC 2 Type II
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	-	https://www.gather.town/pt/security
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide	Available worldwide · Popular in US, EU, GB, JP · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	6 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

BigBlueButton57 / 100low · 44%

Gather68 / 100medium · 73%

Pricing

Free tier

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

Model

BigBlueButtonopen_source

Gatherfreemium

Price level

BigBlueButtonfree

Gatherlow

Starting price

BigBlueButton–

Gather$12

Transparent

BigBlueButton–

Gather✓

Integrations

Count

BigBlueButton8

Gather4

Security

Certifications

BigBlueButton–

GatherSOC 2 Type II

Disclosure policy

BigBlueButton–

Gather✓

Gdpr

BigBlueButton–

Gather✓

Soc2

BigBlueButton–

Gather✓

Trust center

BigBlueButton–

Gatherhttps://www.gather.town/pt/security

Reliability

Status page

BigBlueButton–

Gather✓

Market

Availability

BigBlueButtonAvailable worldwide

GatherAvailable worldwide · Popular in US, EU, GB, JP · HQ US

Content

Faq

BigBlueButton6 items

Gather7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for collaboration software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Collaboration Software
Capability	BigBlueButton	Gather
Modality
Messaging	-	✓
Video meetings	✓	✓
Whiteboard	✓	✓
Meetings
Screen sharing	✓	✓
Recording / transcription	Recording	Recording + AI notes
Security
End-to-end encryption	-	✗
SSO / SCIM	-	✓
Access
Guest / external access	-	✓
Compliance
Compliance controls	-	✓
Deployment
Hosting	Self-hosted only	Cloud only
Scale
Max participants	-	hundreds
Ecosystem
App marketplace	✓	✗
Public API / bot framework	✓	✓
Commercial
Free tier	✓	✓

Modality

Messaging

BigBlueButton-

Gather✓

Video meetings

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

Whiteboard

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

Meetings

Screen sharing

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

Recording / transcription

BigBlueButtonRecording

GatherRecording + AI notes

Security

End-to-end encryption

BigBlueButton-

Gather✗

SSO / SCIM

BigBlueButton-

Gather✓

Access

Guest / external access

BigBlueButton-

Gather✓

Compliance

Compliance controls

BigBlueButton-

Gather✓

Deployment

Hosting

BigBlueButtonSelf-hosted only

GatherCloud only

Scale

Max participants

BigBlueButton-

Gatherhundreds

Ecosystem

App marketplace

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✗

Public API / bot framework

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

Commercial

Free tier

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

BigBlueButton

A freely-available conferencing system designed for educational settings, offering tools for collaborative group learning such as breakout areas, interactive drawing surfaces, and screen sharing capabilities.

Independently observed

Gather

Leader

A web-based platform that enables remote teams to interact, meet, and work together as if co-located, without constant formal meeting scheduling. Users can see colleague availability, initiate instant conversations, and customize their shared digital workspace.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

BigBlueButton

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Gather

Leader

from $12/member/moSubscriptionFree tier30-day trial

From $12/member/month. Free 30-day trial. Custom plans available.

Essential Plan$12/member/month (or $9.60/member/month when billed annually with -20% discount)
- Unlimited audio & video calls
- Unlimited chat messages
- Meeting recordings
- AI meeting notes and transcriptions
- Google Calendar sync
- +8 more
Custom PlanContact sales
- All Essential Plan features
- Custom pricing
- Custom onboarding
- Custom, larger offices
- Hybrid solutions
- +3 more

as of 2026-10-06verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	BigBlueButton	Gather
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✗

Platforms

Web

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

BigBlueButton✗

Gather✓

Self-hosted

BigBlueButton✓

Gather✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

BigBlueButton

8 total

Sakai
Canvas
Moodle Cloud
Jenzabar
D2L
Schoology
YouTube
PeerTube

Independently observed

Gather

Leader

7 total

Google Calendar
GitHub
Spotify
Google Chrome Extension
Outlook (planned)
Google Chrome
Outlook

Independently observed

Still deciding?

BigBlueButton or Gather: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.