Quad vs TrueMetaverse

Quad is a virtual gathering space for groups that want to meet in a shared online room. Participants move between tables to find conversations and topics, while hosts can customize spaces and tables or choose a template. People can share interests to discover connections, and use spatial audio, games, screen and media sharing, shared web browsing, video watching, and music. Quad is available in a browser without a new software download. The site says it supports thousands of simultaneous participants, though the listed room capacity is 50 participants. Organizers can review engagement metrics and longitudinal data about connection growth. Quad presents offerings for affinity groups, education, and enterprise, including alumni groups, students, and remote or hybrid employees. The Free plan is free and includes up to 50 people, 25 tables, and four one-hour events. Pro is priced on request, with billing displayed as “$3 8 /guest”; Unlimited is priced on request, with “$149” billed.

TrueMetaverse is a free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted realtime 2D world for studying, meetings, presentations, games, and shared online time. Users create or join pixel-art spaces with realtime presence, grid movement, collision-aware maps, and short room codes. Five maps are included, along with a server-controlled Hide & Seek mode for 3–12 players per room. Shared activities use LiveKit audio and video rooms, screen sharing, and a synchronized Excalidraw whiteboard controlled by its creator. Study sessions provide persistent timers and daily, weekly, monthly, and all-time leaderboards. The product runs in a browser, with keyboard controls on desktop and joystick and zoom controls on touch devices. Docker deployment can place the frontend, APIs, realtime server, database, media services, TLS, and TURN on one VPS. The README describes JWT authentication, salted scrypt password hashing, per-IP failed-login limits, and server-side validation. Restarting the single WebSocket process clears room, whiteboard, and active game state.