WebRTC Architecture Options: From Open Source Media Servers to CPaaS Solutions

From open source projects to CPaaS solutions, which WebRTC architecture option is best for you?

There are an overwhelming number of choices in WebRTC tech today. When we first started building WebRTC-based applications in 2015, there were not many architectural options. The WebRTC landscape has certainly changed!

Since the inception of the WebRTC standard, the number of architectural choices has gone way beyond libWebRTC and the JavaScript API. While in some cases you might still choose to build directly against the standard (usually called “native WebRTC”), for the vast majority of situations you will still need a media server-based solution in order to achieve high scale and functionality.

The choice is not easy. Our team of experts can guide you through the plethora of open source and commercial CPaaS solutions and help you make the best architectural choice for your current use case and your business growth plans. We will help you find the best balance of built-in functionality, up-front development and licensing costs, ongoing operational costs, and more.

Open Source WebRTC Media Servers

Self-hosted WebRTC solutions give you full control over your infrastructure and can significantly reduce per-call costs at scale. Here are the most widely used open source WebRTC media servers in 2026:

Janus — A lightweight, plugin based WebRTC media server well suited for custom integrations and bridging use cases.

Jitsi — A fully open source, self hosted video conferencing platform with a mature ecosystem and active community.

FreeSWITCH — A scalable telephony platform commonly used in contact centers with robust WebRTC support.

LiveKit — An open source framework for building agents, livestreaming, and video conferencing applications using WebRTC.

mediasoup — A high performance, low level SFU suited for applications requiring fine grained control over media routing.

Kamailio — A high performance open source SIP server used for routing, load balancing, and VoIP infrastructure.

Commercial CPaaS Solutions for Video Applications

A commercial real-time communication platform (CPaaS) abstracts infrastructure complexity and accelerates time to market. CPaaS for video applications typically offer SDKs, managed scaling, and built in features like recording and analytics. Leading CPaaS platforms in 2026 include:

Amazon Chime SDK — Deep AWS integration with powerful AI and ML capabilities. WebRTC.ventures is an Amazon Chime SDK development partner.

Agora — Widely used for live interactive streaming and video, strong in gaming and social apps.

Daily — A developer friendly video API with low latency global infrastructure. WebRTC.ventures is a Daily development partner.

LiveKit — A cloud platform for voice, video, and physical AI agents. WebRTC.ventures is a LiveKit development partner.

Vonage — A full featured CPaaS with voice, video, and messaging in one platform. WebRTC.ventures is a Vonage development partner.

SignalWire — A developer focused platform with strong telephony and AI integration. WebRTC.ventures is a SignalWire development partner.

Twilio — A widely used CPaaS offering programmable video, voice, and messaging.

WebRTC Architecture FAQs

We’ve included some general answers to some common questions below. But the reality is there is no single right or wrong answer. It all depends on your use case, budget, features, business model, licensing/IP requirements, and more.

Our team of experts can help you assess if you need to switch from one provider to another. We can also perform the switch or build a prototype on an alternative architecture.

Should I use a CPaaS or Open Source?

Most often this choice comes down to questions of budget, licensing, and operational costs and expertise. If you need to have complete control of your infrastructure, then open source solutions which you can deploy, control and scale yourself are likely the best choice and will lower your transactional costs of each call. However, they require a lot of expensive DevOps expertise and extra attention paid to scaling and infrastructure.

What if Intellectual Property is my main concern?

That can be tricky. What is your IP really focused on? Is it something about the media server technology? Or is it something adjacent to the video? Many startups build on top of a CPaaS, and not all open source projects come with the same type of licensing requirements.

What if I need an on-premise or hybrid-cloud solution?

Most WebRTC media servers are built for the cloud. However, there are options available for on-premise. LiveSwitch is the primary CPaaS to offer licensing for on-premise or hybrid-cloud solutions. You can also host an open source project on-premise.

What if I need to integrate with telephony and VOIP solutions?

Projects like Asterisk, Kamailio, and Freeswitch are already commonly used in contact centers and offer WebRTC integration options. Other projects like Janus have plugins that allow you to bridge over to telephony systems. CPaaS’s such as Vonage and the Amazon Chime SDK also offer the ability to integrate with contact center solutions in addition to their own commercial solutions.

What if I need to integrate with AI/ML services for transcription and other media processing services?

Virtually any WebRTC media server has some option for integrating with external APIs if you want to do processing of media in real-time or for post-production. This may vary widely, so careful attention should be paid to these requirements in your solutions so that you don’t introduce excessive costs or latency to your application, while also avoiding re-inventing the wheel. We have integrated with external services like Symbl.ai, and solutions like the Amazon Chime SDK can be integrated with the many AI/ML solutions that AWS offers.

WebRTC.ventures Services

Look no farther than the globally-recognized experts at WebRTC.ventures for all of your live video needs!

Assess

Our team of experts can review existing solutions and make recommendations for architectural improvements, scaling concerns, or to solve specific issues.

Build

We can provide complete design and development teams who will build your entire web or mobile application and make your vision a reality!

Integration

Our team can work with your staff to integrate video solutions into your existing application seamlessly, and deliver extra value to your users.

Test

We offer exploratory testing and automated testing based on our live video expertise which can ensure the quality of your application on an ad-hoc basis or side by side with ongoing development.

Manage

Our DevOps experts will ensure that your application is ready to deploy at scale, and we can provide managed services contracts around applications we build which will provide ongoing maintenance and support.