The best video conferencing apps, according to hackers
9 video conferencing apps were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended video conferencing app with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Calls work reliably
Free, open source video calls that work well and can be self-hosted. Main caveat: the public meet.jit.si instance has become more locked down.
All 9 video conferencing apps, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoom | 99 | 155 | 39% | 12 | 5 yrs5 owners | — |
| 2 | Jitsi Meet | 42 | 15 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Google Meet | 39 | 48 | 45% | 10 | — | — |
| 4 | Proton Meet | 17 | 23 | 43% | 5 | — | — |
| 5 | BigBlueButton | 7 | 2 | 78% | 3 | — | — |
| 6 | Galene | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 7 | Cisco Webex | 5 | 5 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 7 | La Suite Meet | 5 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 7 | Spatial 3D online meeting app | 5 | 1 | 83% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same video conferencing app in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to video conferencing apps that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.