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What is Jitsi?
Jitsi is a free and open-source video conferencing platform that allows users to share camera, audio, and screen on mobile and desktop devices. It's one of the biggest open-source video conferencing solutions and offers a high level of customization with its architecture.
Jitsi can be installed on on-premise servers as software and served from your own servers, or you can continue with the online version which is maintained by 8x8 software. At first glance, Jitsi looks very easy to use, but it comes with a lot of challenges for virtual classrooms, workshops, and online training. So let's explain each of them:
1. It requires a developer to run: As easy as it looks, the out-of-package Jitsi only includes the essentials and requires developer time to customize, tweak and add the necessary plugins that fits to your needs. This can further increase the required deployment time and put an unnecessary burden on your developers.
2. Its not designed for virtual classrooms: Jitsi is essentially a video conferencing software, which lacks the fundamentals that are required to have a good virtual classroom. Jitsi currently lacks roster management, dedicated dashboard, drill-down student reporting, and session content management. This all comes at a cost to instructor as if one proceeds with Jitsi; they probably will have to use separate systems to get each of them.
3. Requires maintenance: Being on your servers means that you constantly have to check if Jitsi is running correctly, or enough resources has been made available for it.
4. Quality degrades if you want to have higher participants: While Jitsi is OK for small groups, the system integrity starts to shake down if you want to have higher groups or webinars with it. This further limits the usability of Jitsi.
Jitsi Features
Jitsi is pretty basic when it comes to features. We even can summarize them in a couple of bullet points:
• Camera and Audio Sharing
• Screen Sharing
• Chat Messages
• 3rd Party Integrations (Requires Developer Time)
Jitsi Pricing
Jitsi is completely free if you decide to use it with your own servers. If you want to go with an software provider and want to use Jitsi as a Service, the pricing is based on monthly active users and starts from $100.
Jitsi may be an expensive option for you if you want to get the most performance out of your money because it lacks the necessary features like built-in dashboard or user management.
Might be some of the cons that Jitsi comes with. This article focuses on what Alternatives you can go with instead of using Jitsi for having the best virtual classroom experience both for instructor and the students!
There is a good alternative for Jitsi if you want more features and better pricing. Let's look at our alternative:
What is Perculus?
Perculus is a virtual classroom software that is specifically designed for learning & teaching unlike other standard video conferencing solutions like Jitsi.
Perculus uses a number of training-focused features to improve session engagement, this allows Perculus to be precise and prepared.
If you think about "Why would I pay for Perculus when I can use Jitsi for free?" The answer is simple. Perculus comes with every feature you need out of the package. You don't spend any time with development and upkeep.
Perculus Features
Perculus offers many more features than Jitsi. If we need to briefly summarize Perculus' features:
• Course Flow: Flow allows you to build your virtual classroom material ahead of time in a PowerPoint slides like manner! Just upload your files, add your questions and prepare your Breakout Rooms before the session EVEN begins! When your classroom starts, just hit next for changing the material, never have to deal with wasting time with preparatory tasks during your virtual classroom.
• Breakout Rooms: Perculus allows you to divide your participants into groups. You can allow groups to work on specific tasks under your moderation. Different from the competition, you can even assign groups the participants even before the session starts.
• Video Conferencing: Perculus allows you to share your camera and audio with HD quality. Participants can share up to 50 cameras and you can easily manage the participant permissions like who is allowed to share camera and who is not. This allows you to create sessions without any hiccups!
• Hybrid Mode: You can use two different cameras from one computer, at the same time. During your virtual classroom Perculus allows you to share two cameras at once from a single device. This allows you to clearly show off what you are doing on the whiteboard, or the canvas!
• Built-in Questions: You can use open-ended or choice based questions with Perculus.
• Drill-down Reporting: Every session generates six ( S I X ) different reports! You can analyze your virtual classrooms based on participant attendance, question responses or simply who shared their cameras the longest!
• Advanced Dashboard: Perculus comes with everything you need. With one subscription, you also get access to our dashboard where you can manage/add users, create and plan sessions or generate reports.
• Easy Integrations: Perculus has LTI and API integrations ready-to-deploy at your disposal. This allows Perculus to seamlessly integrate with your current LMS or internal platforms.
• White-label Ready: Perculus can be customized to fit your brand. What's different from Jitsi in Perculus is ours is much more easier and does not require any kind of coding whatsoever!
Perculus Pricing
Perculus comes with all-unlocked 14 day free trial with all plans. That means whatever plan you choose, you are not required to pay anything (Because we are pretty sure you will like Perculus).
Perculus also offers an Always Free plan. If it fits your needs, you can use it for free as much as you want.
If you want to take a step further and get the most out of Perculus with our priority support, advanced integrations and full-on whitelabelling, our premium plans starts at $10 a month per Instructor.
Perculus does not charges extra for number of registered users or number or sessions. Our pricing plans are made simple for helping instructors/trainers to get started as fast as possible, without spending any time thinking about the different tiers of plans and extras.
If you feel like you are ready, click the link down below to start your 14 day free trial with Perculus (no credit card required) and try our features!
