Nireka

Posted on Sep 28, 2023 • Originally published at dyte.io

Top 10 Daily Video SDK Alternative

We've all embraced video calls, whether with our work colleagues or our doctor. It remains a challenge for developers to build real-time audio and video features into products.

You could use off-the-shelf meeting clients like Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet, but they're rigid and often don't cater to unique use cases. That's where Video Conferencing SDKs step in. Using them, you can build completely custom live experiences inside your product.

Daily is one such video SDK; the company provides developers with APIs to add video conferencing to their applications. Since being founded in 2015, it has amassed a customer list, including AppFolio, HotDoc, Pitch, Kumospace, and Teamflow.

Despite saying all that, it is far from being the perfect tool, and the platform is held back by legacy code and unintuitive developer experience.

If you're a Daily customer or want to try Daily, read this blog to understand what you might miss out on.

What to Look for in a Daily Alternative?

There is no point in using a video SDK solution that requires your developers to become video engineering experts. At that point, just build your own live video infra. That said, here are the key things to consider when choosing a video conferencing SDK for your business:

Reliable support: You should have access to customer support when you need it. Look, live video is hard. You will run into many roadblocks, and if every support request takes over 72 hours to fix, your time to market will be significantly delayed.
Customization: Your video SDK should offer varying levels of customization to ensure you can tailor the video conferencing experience to your specific needs. Whether you need a prebuilt user interface or want to create a custom UI/UX design, you should be able to do it quickly.
Scalability: The SDK platform should be able to grow with you. A few hundred people on a call? Done. 10,000 people? Sure. Stream to millions? Duh. Most SDKs handle vast volumes of people but at the cost of video/voice quality. Your chosen SDK should not.
Cost-effectiveness: You should expect a range of pricing structures that balance affordability with features and business needs.
Network management: The platform should automatically take care of the backend user network and device edge cases, giving you more time to build new features.

The 10 best alternatives to Daily

Now that we've assessed Daily SDK limitations, let's checkout the top 10 Daily Alternatives are - Dyte, Jisti, Zoom, Agora, Twilio, EnableX, TokBox, AWS Chime SDK, Whereby and Mux.

So why settle for a video SDK platform that isn't cutting it? Better explore the top Daily alternatives.

Jitsi
Dyte
Zoom
Agora
Twilio
EnableX
TokBox
AWS chime
Whereby
Mux

Below, we'll get an overview of the alternatives to Daily so you can make an informed decision for your business.

Please Note: Our reviews are based on extensive research and honest user feedback, so you can trust us to provide valuable insights as we have spent hours analyzing user reviews online.

Jitsi

Jitsi is a set of free, open-source projects that provide flexible video conferencing services for individuals, teams, and organizations. It is best known for Jitsi Meet and Jitsi Videobridge.

Jitsi Meet is an end-client application similar to Zoom that lets you run video chats. You can share your screen, collaborate in real time, invite users, and more.

Jitsi Videobridge is an XMPP server capable of hosting thousands of video chats. It's compatible with WebRTC and offers encryption by default.

Jitsi, in short:

Jitsi is free, open-source, and offers end-to-end encryption meaning you can review how the platform works and modify the code to fit your needs.
The live experience offers active speakers, text chatting (web only), room locking, screen sharing, raise/lower hand, push-to-talk mode, audio-only option, and more.
One major issue is its security. The platform does not provide adequate privacy and encryption for confidential business meetings, making it unsuitable for many organizations that need to keep their information safe.
You need ample storage space to store and save meeting data offline, and it can be a problem for businesses that hold multiple sessions daily and must keep their data safe and accessible.
Jitsi Meet is unsuitable for a broad audience, as it can only handle up to 200 attendees, and this can detract from the meeting and connection process for attendees over 75.
The platform does not support meetings lasting longer than three hours, making it inconvenient for large companies, organizations, webinars, and other institutions requiring extended appointments.
Lastly, the video and audio quality of Jitsi Meet is poor, which can result in a negative meeting experience for both attendees and hosts.

Jisti pricing:

Jitsi is open-source and completely free to use. However, if you're a business in need of advanced features or technical support, you may want to consider third-party providers that offer commercial support for Jitsi.

The cost of commercial support may vary depending on your specific needs and the provider you choose.

Dyte

Dyte is a powerful video conferencing platform for businesses and organizations.

Whether you're looking to conduct virtual meetings, host webinars, or provide remote customer support, Dyte has got you covered with its high-quality video and audio, customization options, scalability, easy integration, real-time collaboration, reliable customer support, and affordable pricing plans.

Dyte, in short:

Here are some key benefits that make Dyte the top choice for businesses of all sizes:

High-quality video and audio: With Dyte's advanced technology, you can expect crystal-clear video and audio quality every time you connect with your team.
Customization: It understands that every business is unique and offers a high customization level. With Dyte, you can tailor the platform to your needs and requirements.
Scalability: Your communication needs grow as you scale your business. Fortunately, Dyte video SDK can accommodate up to 10,000 participants, making it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes.
Easy integration: Dyte video SDK integrates seamlessly with your apps owing to its open APIs and production-ready sample apps.
Real-time collaboration: With Dyte video SDK, you can collaborate in real-time, share files, and work together seamlessly, no matter where your team is located.
Customer support: It offers reliable customer support, ensuring you can get help when needed.

So if you're looking for a comprehensive, customizable, and secure video conferencing platform that offers high-quality video and audio, scalability, easy integration, real-time collaboration, and reliable customer support, look no further than Dyte video conferencing SDK.

Dyte pricing:

Dyte video SDK offers affordable pricing options, with free 10,000 minutes that refresh every month. Once you exhaust these, pricing starts at just $0.004 per user per minute, with recordings and RTMP-out options available at a considerably low rate of $0.010 and $0.015 per minute, respectively.

Zoom Video SDK

The Zoom Video SDK helps build custom live video-based applications powered by Zoom's technology.

The Video SDK was introduced when Zoom realized that the classic client couldn't serve many customer use cases, and customers would notice more benefits if they could just access the tech behind Zoom.

The SDK provides many services, including video, audio, screen sharing, chat, and data streams. You can build with all of these features or pick and choose, and it also has full server-side APIs and webhooks.

Zoom Video SDK, in short:

With the Video SDK, you can build customizable video compositions with up to 1,000 co-hosts/participants per session.
Zoom offers limited customization to the live video, and it only lets you add screen sharing, third-party live streaming, and in-session chat to the call and manage its layout.
It supports seven languages and provides open translation extensibility, opening any app to international growth and improved user experience.
It only allows the use of predetermined roles of a host and participant and may pose difficulties for use cases requiring modified permissions for peers.
You only get lagged and delayed email support unless you pay for the support plans.
The SDK only partially helps manage the user's bandwidth consumption in case of network degradation.

Zoom Video SDK pricing:

Zoom offers 10,000 free minutes every month, and you must pay only after consuming them. The Zoom video SDK pricing starts at $0.0035 per user minute, with recordings costing $100 per month for 1 TB of storage and telephony at $100 per month.

Zoom offers three customer support plans: Access, Premier, and Premier+. Pricing for these plans has to be obtained by contacting them directly.

Agora

Agora's video calling SDK comes stocked with features like embedded voice and video chat, real-time recording, live streaming, and instant messaging so developers can create live in-app experiences.

Agora, in short:

Besides the video SDK, Agora offers add-ons like AR facial masks, sound effects, whiteboards, and other features, for an additional cost.
Its SD-RTN offers good global coverage, connecting people from over 200 countries and regions with ultra-low latency streaming capabilities.
The pricing structure can be complex and unfit for businesses having limited budgets.
Additionally, users seeking hands-on support may need patience as Agora's support team may take time to assist.

Agora pricing:

It offers Premium and Standard pricing options, with the total usage duration for audio and video calculated at the end of each month. Video usage is classified into four types based on resolution and is priced accordingly.

The Pricing offers Audio for $0.99/1,000 participant minutes, HD Video for $3.99/1,000 participant minutes, and Full HD Video for $8.99/1,000 participant minutes.

If you're interested in delving deeper, we've written a comprehensive article on Agora pricing that provides an in-depth analysis.

Twilio Video

Twilio is one the leading video SDK solutions helping businesses add live video to their mobile and web apps.

The advantage of using Twilio is that you can create an app from scratch or add communication features to an existing solution.

Twilio Video, in short:

It provides web, iOS, and Android SDKs. When using multiple audio and video inputs, devs must manually configure them, for which they have to write extra code.
If users' call drops or face any issues, you can use Twilio's call insights to track and analyze the errors. Developers need to write extra code for this too.
As your usage grows, pricing can become a concern. Unfortunately, Twilio doesn't have a tiering system built into the dashboard.
It supports 50 hosts within a call and 50 participants, including hosts.
Twilio doesn't offer any plugins for ease of product development.
The Twilio Video SDK is a popular option for integrating video chat, but it may not offer the level of customization some developers need. Also, writing all that code.

Twilio Video pricing:

Its pricing starts at $4 per 1,000 minutes, with recordings costing $0.004 per participant minute, recording compositions for $0.01 per composed minute, and $0.00167 GB/day for storage after the first 10 GBs.

Read more about Twilio Video pricing.

EnableX

EnableX SDK offers video and audio calls with collaborative features like a whiteboard, screen share, annotate, recording, host control, and chat.

The SDK offers a video builder to deploy custom video-calling solutions into your application. It lets you build custom live video streams with tailor-made UI, hosting, billing, and other core functionalities.

EnableX, in short:

You can access its self-service portal, which provides reporting capabilities and live analytics to track quality and leverage online payments from clients.
The SDK supports limited coding languages: Javascript, PHP, and Python.
It lets your users stream live directly from your app/site or on YouTube/Facebook for an unlimited reach.
The support team can take up to 72 hours to respond to your help request, which can be prohibitive for some users.

EnableX pricing:

EnableX pricing starts at $0.004 per minute per participant for rooms with up to 50 people, and if you need to host larger meetings or events, you can contact its sales team for custom pricing options.

It also offers a recording option for $0.010 per minute per participant. In addition, you can transcode your video into a different format for $0.010 per minute, and if you need extra storage or RTMP streaming, you can get it for $0.05 per GB per month and $0.10 per minute, respectively.

TokBox

Despite their acquisition by Vonage and subsequent renaming as the "Vonage API," the industry still refers to them as TokBox or OpenBox.

Its SDKs allow for reliable point-to-point communication, making it an option to consider for establishing proof of concepts for hackathons or meeting investor deadlines.

TokBox, in short:

The SDK lets you build custom audio/video streams with effects, filters, and AR/VR on mobile devices. It supports use cases ranging from 1:1 video, group video chat, or large-scale broadcast sessions. The calls can be video and voice, voice-only, or mixed.
In the call, participants can share screens, send data, and exchange messages between all participants via chat.
One of the main challenges is overcoming scaling costs — as your user base grows, so does the price per stream per minute, making it an expensive option as your application thrives. For example, three broadcasts lasting 30 minutes with 100 subscribers each can cost up to $810.99 per month.
TokBox's extra features, such as recording and interactive broadcast, also come at an additional cost, and after 2,000 connections, the platform switches to CDN delivery, resulting in higher latency.
Additionally, it struggles with real-time streaming at scale, as anything over 3,000 viewers requires switching to HLS, which, again, adds significant latency.

TokBox pricing:

OpenTok utilizes a usage-based pricing model determined by the number of participants in a video session, which is dynamically calculated every minute. Their pricing plans start from $9.99 per month and include a free allowance of 2,000 minutes per month across all plans. Once this free allowance has been consumed, users are charged $0.00395 per participant/minute. Recording starts at $0.010 per minute, while HLS streaming incurs a charge of $0.003 per minute.

Read more about TokBox pricing.

Amazon Chime

Amazon Chime SDK is the tech behind Amazon Chime but without its shell.

Amazon Chime, in short:

Amazon Chime SDK allows just 25 participants (if participants are on mobile, then 50) to join a video meeting.
Thanks to the simulcast, your application can upload multiple versions of the video stream. In other words, your video quality remains consistent across various devices and networks.
Amazon Chime SDK encrypts all calls, videos, and chats.
It lacks valuable features like polling, auto-sync with Google Calendar, and a background blur effect.
It doesn't work well in a Linux environment. Based on user reviews, Chime faces difficulties if participants use the Safari browser.
Moreover, customers who require support from Amazon Chime may encounter inconsistencies in their experience. Users have reported that query resolution times vary depending on the customer support agent on the call, making the overall customer support experience unpredictable.

Amazon Chime pricing:

The free basic plan allows users to access one-on-one audio/video calls and group chats.

The Plus plan is priced at $2.50 per monthly user and includes additional features such as screen sharing, remote desktop control, 1 GB of message history per user, and Active Directory integration.

The Pro plan, priced at $15 per user per month, includes all of the Plus plan features and enables meetings for three or more people.

Whereby

Whereby is a simple, user-friendly video conferencing platform offering basic small- to medium-sized meeting features. However, the platform may not be suitable for larger businesses or those requiring more advanced features.

Whereby, in short:

The tool lets you customize the video interface across logos, colors, and buttons with their no-code interface editor. But the customizations are elementary, and you can't make a completely custom experience with Whereby.
It lets you offer video calls anywhere — from your website and mobile apps to web products — without opening external links or apps.
While Whereby offers a seamless video conferencing experience, it may not have all the bells and whistles other video conferencing tools do. The platform has a maximum capacity of 50 participants.
It may also lack advanced features, such as screen sharing for mobile users. While you can personalize your video conferencing room, customization options for the host interface may be limited.
Unfortunately, Whereby does not offer a virtual background feature, which may be a downside for users looking to add some fun to their calls. Some users have also reported issues with the mobile app, which may impact the overall user experience.

Whereby pricing:

Whereby offers a pricing model that starts at $9.99 per month, which includes up to 2,000 user minutes, renewed monthly.

After the allocated minutes are consumed, an additional charge of $0.004 per minute is applicable. The platform also provides cloud recording and live streaming options, which are charged at $0.01 per minute.

Email and chat support are free for all accounts, ensuring that users can get the necessary assistance whenever required. Technical onboarding, customer success management, and HIPAA compliance are additional features for paid support plans.

Mux

Mux is an API-first platform that helps developers create video streaming and analytics experiences in their apps.

It aims to make users' videos look beautiful, no matter where or how they are viewed.

Mux, in short:

The SDK lets you embed real-time video and live streams in your application. You can add live video across web, iOS, and Android SDKs-based applications.
Each call supports up to 100 participants in a real-time WebRTC environment with their video on.
You can get advanced video analytics using Mux Data — a separate offering that lets you dive deep into how your users consume content.
It doesn't offer collaborative features like some top competitors, so you're missing out on the opportunity to engage your audience and work with your team in real time.
Mux makes managing video call disruptions difficult because you may feel like you're on your own. The SDK offers no in-built support to help you navigate these challenges, leaving you to deal with disruptions and downtime alone.

Mux pricing:

For new sign-ups, the platform provides a one-time $20 credit.

After that, they charge $0.004 per minute for real-time video, $0.04 per minute for encoding, $0.003 per minute for storage, and $0.0012 per minute for streaming.

Simulcast is available at $0.02 per minute, and auto-generated captions are available at $0.024 per minute after the initial 6,000 minutes.

Wrapping Up

When choosing the best video SDK solution, you should look for a reliable and user-friendly video collaboration tool to help take your business to the next level. Considering the discussions in this post, Dyte video conferencing SDK is the perfect tool for businesses of any size and scale.

With personalized support and guidance throughout onboarding, it offers a range of advantages that make it the top choice for businesses seeking video conferencing solutions.

So why wait? Sign up with Dyte today and take your video conferencing capabilities into the modern-day business environment.