Apache OpenMeetings vs Galene

Apache OpenMeetings is open-source groupware for video conferencing, instant messaging, whiteboards, and collaborative document work. Meeting participants can choose audio, video, audio-only, video-only, or picture-only modes, adjust quality and devices, record sessions for MP4 download, and share a desktop or window. Its multi-whiteboard supports drawing, writing, images, clip art, and imports such as PDF, DOC, ODT, and PPT. Conference rooms include a file explorer and shared public drive, while users have private drives. An integrated calendar handles invitations to internal or external attendees and emails meeting details. The project describes REST and SOAP APIs, LDAP/ADS connectors, VoIP/Asterisk modules, and plugins for Moodle, Drupal, and Joomla. OpenMeetings is free, with source and binary downloads; it is installed on a server and requires Java 21 and Kurento Media Server. The project lists a security fix in version 9.1.0 for an arbitrary file-read vulnerability affecting earlier versions from 5.0.0. Server setup requirements include a 2 GHz CPU and 4 GB RAM minimum under limited feature conditions, with 8 GB RAM recommended.

Galene is a free videoconference system with a browser client and self-hosted server, designed for lectures, conferences, and tutorials as well as meetings. Its server handles audio and video streams, multiple codecs, simulcast, and scalable video coding for VP8 and VP9. In the browser, participants can chat, share screens or windows, blur backgrounds, use activity detection and moderation, and transfer files peer to peer. The client can also broadcast audio and video from files on disk. Authentication options include usernames and passwords or token authorization, and an HTTP administrative API manages groups and users. Galene supports WHIP and lists an RTMP frontend for OBS Studio, an experimental SIP bridge, LDAP integration, and a sample third-party authorization server. Traffic is encrypted and authenticated between senders and the server, and between the server and receivers; however, media is decrypted by the server, so the system does not provide end-to-end encryption. The project estimates about 300 lecture participants per CPU core, or around 20 participants in a many-to-many meeting on one core. Its default client does not contact third-party servers or CDNs.