FreeSWITCH vs Kamailio
FreeSWITCH
signalwire.com
Kamailio
kamailio.orgSide by side
| Figure | FreeSWITCH | Kamailio |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Voice APIs | 8.0 (#10) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Downloads | A free SignalWire account is required to access FreeSWITCH packages and downloads. | The project provides Debian and Ubuntu packages through an APT repository, RPM packages for CentOS, Fedora, and OpenSUSE, and source downloads. |
| Founded | 2006 | 2001 |
| Integrations | FreeSWITCH documents integrations through HTTP backends, embedded Lua, Perl, Python, JavaScript and Java, and SignalWire connectivity. | The project lists backend support including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Radius, LDAP, Redis, Cassandra, MongoDB, and Memcached. |
| Purpose | FreeSWITCH is an open-source framework for real-time voice and video that can route calls, bridge video, transcode media, and connect protocols. | Kamailio is open source SIP server software for building VoIP and real time communications platforms. |
| Support | The open-source edition has community support, while SignalWire offers commercial support, hardened builds, and priority patches through FreeSWITCH Pro. | Community support is offered free on a best effort basis through mailing lists, Matrix, and IRC. |
Plans
FreeSWITCH
- FreeSWITCH Open SourceFree
- FreeSWITCH AdvantagePriced on request
- SignalWire PlatformPriced on request
In their own words
FreeSWITCH
FreeSWITCH is an open-source framework for real-time voice and video communications. It can route calls, bridge video, transcode media, and connect protocols, and is designed for use in carriers, contact centers, and communication products. Its Event Socket exposes call control, channel management, and internal events to external processes over TCP. Integrations include HTTP backends, embedded Lua, Perl, Python, JavaScript, Java, and SignalWire connectivity. The mod_signalwire module connects to SignalWire for inbound and outbound PSTN calling over a persistent WebSocket session. Linux installation guidance covers Debian and Ubuntu using SignalWire packages or a source build. A free SignalWire account is required to access packages and downloads. FreeSWITCH is licensed under MPL 2.0 and can run in production at no cost; self-hosting requires dedicated resources to maintain on-premises infrastructure. The open-source edition has community support, while FreeSWITCH Pro offers commercial support, hardened builds, priority patches, and commercial modules including answering machine detection and licensed G.729 Annex A encoding and decoding.