Hubs

Overview

Hubs is a browser-based platform for bringing people together in shared 3D rooms, and is best suited to organizers who want a customizable venue for events, classes, exhibitions, or social gatherings. Its open-source Community Edition makes self-hosting possible, but the 25-participant room limit and aging documentation make it a more considered choice than a turnkey meeting service.

Rooms combine spatial audio and text chat with shared images, videos, 3D models, and other media. Persistent rooms and guest access support recurring spaces without requiring every visitor to create an account; some features do require sign-in, and an email address is sufficient to create one. Room access is invite-only, so Hubs fits planned gatherings better than public, open-door events.

Community Edition gives administrators control to customize an instance, import assets, manage users, and moderate contributed content. Its documentation says the database does not store personally identifying information. That is a useful privacy attribute, though it does not remove the operator’s responsibility for hosting and administration. For a broader comparison, see our Virtual Meeting Room Software list.

Key features

Rooms for shared media

Spatialized audio makes conversation part of the room rather than a single undifferentiated call, while text chat and media sharing support presentations and collaborative activities. Screen sharing is also supported. The 25-participant room capacity is a clear constraint: Hubs can suit a class or smaller event, but larger gatherings need another arrangement or platform.

Persistent rooms let organizers return to a shared space, and invite-only access helps keep attendance controlled. Together, these choices favor recurring or organized groups over spontaneous public events. Guests can join without accounts, which reduces friction for visitors, although sign-in remains necessary for some features.

Build and administer environments

Spoke, a browser-based scene editor, lets creators assemble Hubs environments from 3D models, images, videos, and other assets. Its media discovery includes a Sketchfab integration. This gives organizers a way to shape a venue around an event or lesson rather than rely only on a standard meeting layout.

Community Edition administrators can customize the instance, import assets, manage users, and moderate contributed content. That flexibility is valuable to organizations that want control over their environment, but it comes with hosting and operational work. The Foundation’s welcome page warns that a significant portion of the documentation is outdated and says Hubs by Mozilla and Hubs Cloud are obsolete, so administrators should not assume every guide reflects a current deployment.

Pricing

Hubs Community Edition costs free and is self-hosted. Open-source software carries no subscription charge, but hosting, a domain, and email service may add costs. A Foundation setup guide estimates at least $38 USD per month for its DigitalOcean example, plus domain and possible email-service charges; that is a hosting example, not a Hubs subscription price. The same example estimates capacity of 30–60 concurrent users, with lower capacity possible under heavy use. That estimate is not a replacement for the stated 25-participant room capacity.

There are no paid Hubs tiers or plan-based seat upgrades in the Community Edition pricing. Its stated room capacity is 25 participants, and its self-hosted nature means the operator must account for infrastructure separately. The free software is most attractive to teams prepared to operate their own instance; those seeking a hosted subscription with a simpler operating burden should compare alternatives.

Platforms

Hubs is browser-based and supports web access, with listed platform coverage for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosting. The documentation says it can be explored in 2D on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, as well as with VR headsets. There are no mobile apps, so mobile access is through the browser rather than a dedicated app. This breadth helps groups with mixed devices, while organizations needing a native mobile application should look elsewhere.

Who it's for

Hubs is a strong fit for educators, event organizers, artists, and community groups that want an interactive virtual environment and have the capacity to run a self-hosted service. It also suits teams that value open-source customization and guest access. It is less appropriate for large audiences that need rooms above 25 participants, or for buyers who need current, dependable deployment guidance and do not want to manage hosting themselves.

The Foundation directs users to Discord for community support and offers email contact for private questions. That gives operators a route to ask for help, but it is community-oriented rather than a stated paid support tier.

Pros and cons

Pros: Open-source Community Edition can be self-hosted and customized, giving operators control over the instance and its administration.

Pros: Persistent, invite-only rooms combine spatial audio, text chat, screen sharing, and shared media, with guest access for visitors.

Pros: Spoke provides a browser-based way to build environments, including discovery integrated with Sketchfab.

Cons: The 25-participant room limit rules out larger gatherings without another solution.

Cons: Hosting, domain, and possible email-service costs sit outside the free software price, and self-hosting requires operational ownership.

Cons: A significant portion of the documentation is outdated, complicating setup and maintenance decisions.

Cons: Mobile access is browser-based; there are no mobile apps.

Alternatives

Choose WorkAdventure if a free plan for up to 10 users with unlimited duration better matches a small group, or if you need its listed API platform support. Choose Glue if its free allowance of 10 team members, 10 team spaces, 30-minute sessions, and 2GB of team file storage better suits a bounded team collaboration setup.

RAUM is an option for organizations seeking a paid plan with 12 concurrent users and three workspaces; its Professional Plus plan is €99 a month billed annually, or 150€/Month when billed monthly. Consider Topia when a 50-person demo capacity and limited broadcasting and screensharing fit the event better than Hubs’ 25-person room cap.

ZEP may suit a browser-only deployment that needs a free plan for up to 200 concurrent users, while Samudaia is another free option for teams considering a team-sized workspace during early access. Choose Frame if a trial-based plan with a stated allowance of eight users and three video uploads better fits the evaluation. flat.social is worth comparing for browser-based gatherings of up to five people with unlimited session length and spatial audio plus video rooms.

Verdict

Choose Hubs if you want an open-source, self-hosted 3D space that you can shape for a class, event, exhibition, or recurring community gathering. Its shared media, scene editor, guest access, and administrative control give it a distinct case for teams willing to operate their own environment. Look elsewhere if you need more than 25 participants per room, native mobile apps, or a deployment path grounded in consistently current documentation.