A Jitsi Meet server gives you browser video calls on your own domain, with no guest accounts and no per-seat licence. On a VPS the videobridge decides the size: it needs UDP port 10000 open, 4 to 8 GB of RAM, and outbound bandwidth that can grow with the square of the number of people in a room.
This post covers what Jitsi Meet needs, the Debian or Ubuntu install, the firewall ports, the per-participant bandwidth arithmetic, sizing by concurrent users, when to add a second videobridge, and why hosting calls in the EU matters. Requirements and ports come from the Jitsi handbook, checked against the current stable release, 11248.
What does a Jitsi Meet server need?
A Jitsi Meet install is four components on one machine: nginx serves the web app, Prosody handles signalling, Jicofo manages conferences, and the Jitsi Videobridge (JVB) forwards audio and video between participants. The bridge is the heavy part. It does not mix or re-encode video; it receives each participant's stream and forwards it to everyone else who needs it.
The requirements page calls Jitsi a real-time system where a miscalculation breaks calls rather than slowing them, and lists needs in order of importance:
- Network first. Speed and reliability are essential. For a friends or small-organisation server, 1 Gbit/s is often enough.
- RAM. 8 GB is the usual suggestion, 4 GB works for small meetings, and 2 GB only for test servers or very small meetings.
- CPU. For a basic server, 4 dedicated cores can be enough. Prosody uses only one core, so many cores do not help it. The handbook warns that on a VPS, CPU time taken by neighbours hurts real-time media, so test before relying on a shape.
- Disk. About 20 GB, unless you log heavily.
Recording is separate. Jibri needs one system per recorded meeting, at least 8 GB of RAM for 720p, and should not share the Jitsi server.
How do you install Jitsi Meet on a VPS?
The Debian/Ubuntu quickstart is a package install. On a fresh Debian or Ubuntu image:
- Create a DNS A record such as
meet.example.orgpointing at the VPS, and set the hostname to match. - Install
gnupg2,nginx-fullandcurl. Jitsi requires OpenJDK 17; on Ubuntu, enable the universe repository. - Add the Prosody repository and the Jitsi stable repository exactly as the handbook shows, then run
sudo apt update. - Run
sudo apt install jitsi-meet. Enter the hostname when asked and choose the Let's Encrypt certificate; a self-signed certificate breaks the mobile apps.
By default, anyone who can reach your server can start a conference. For a team server, restrict who may create rooms. The old "secure domain" method is marked deprecated in the handbook, which recommends JWT authentication instead; rooms can also carry a password set from the meeting itself.
Jitsi Meet sends no email in the standard install: invitations are links you share. If you add a component that does send mail, such as an identity provider for JWT login, point it at a relay on submission port 587. Outbound SMTP on TCP 25 is blocked on every Noded VPS.
For more than 100 participants across the server, the handbook raises systemd limits in /etc/systemd/system.conf:
DefaultLimitNOFILE=65000
DefaultLimitNPROC=65000
DefaultTasksMax=65000Which ports does Jitsi Meet need?
The quickstart's firewall list, with what each port does. UDP 10000 is the one people forget: without it, people in calls of three or more cannot see or hear each other.
| Port | Protocol | Purpose | Open to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/tcp | SSH | Administration | Your IP only |
| 80/tcp | HTTP | Let's Encrypt validation and renewal | Everyone |
| 443/tcp | HTTPS | Web app and signalling | Everyone |
| 10000/udp | Media (ICE, SRTP) | Audio and video through the videobridge | Everyone |
| 3478/udp | STUN | coturn STUN, optional, needs a config.js change | Everyone, if you run coturn |
| 5349/tcp | TURN over TLS | Fallback when a network blocks UDP, served by coturn | Everyone, if you run coturn |
| 5222/tcp | XMPP | Prosody, for external videobridges | Your bridges only |
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 10000/udp
sudo ufw allow from 198.51.100.7 to any port 22 proto tcp
sudo ufw allow 3478/udp
sudo ufw allow 5349/tcp
sudo ufw enableOur VPS gets its own public IPv4, not NAT, so the bridge's static NAT mapping in jvb.conf is not needed. Every Noded VPS includes 100 Gbps of always-on Layer 3/4 DDoS protection, which matters for a public UDP port; our guide to protecting self-hosted apps covers the rest.
How much bandwidth does each Jitsi participant use?
Because the bridge forwards rather than mixes, each participant uploads their own video once and downloads everyone else's. The bridge's outbound traffic is roughly participants times what each one receives. The handbook's per-stream figures: 180p about 200 kbit/s, 360p about 500 kbit/s, 720p about 2,500 kbit/s, 4K about 10 Mbit/s.
The table is illustrative, using those figures for two layouts: everyone at 720p (the worst case), and a typical speaker view with one 720p speaker and the rest as 180p thumbnails. Real calls vary with layout, screen sharing and how many cameras are on.
| People in one meeting | Worst case: all 720p | Typical: one 720p + thumbnails | Fits on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Peer to peer, no bridge traffic | Peer to peer | Any shape |
| 4 | 30 Mbps | 11.6 Mbps | VPS II and up |
| 10 | 225 Mbps | 41 Mbps | VPS III (typical), media server VPS (worst) |
| 20 | 950 Mbps | 122 Mbps | VPS IV (typical), media server VPS (worst) |
| 30 | Over 2 Gbps | 243 Mbps | Media server VPS |
Two-person calls usually skip the bridge: the default config tries a direct peer-to-peer connection when exactly two people are in a room and moves back to the bridge when a third joins. Several meetings at once add up, so size for your busiest hour, not your biggest room.
Our standard VPS shapes have a symmetric per-VM ceiling of 100 to 300 Mbps on a shared 1 Gbps node port, with no transfer quota. The media server VPS shapes have no per-VM ceiling, which is what large rooms and worst-case layouts need.
Which Noded plan fits Jitsi Meet?
Prices are monthly, in euros, excluding VAT, from our live catalogue. Concurrent-user guidance is our estimate from the handbook's figures above, not a benchmark; run a test call with your real group size before you rely on a shape.
| Use | Plan | vCPU / RAM / SSD | Network | Bucharest | Sofia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test server, very small meetings | VPS II | 2 / 4 GB / 40 GB | 140 Mbps | €6 | €9 |
| Small team, one meeting of about 10 | VPS III | 2 / 8 GB / 60 GB | 180 Mbps | €10 | €16 |
| Handbook's basic server: 4 cores, 8 GB or more | VPS IV | 4 / 16 GB / 80 GB | 220 Mbps | €16 | €26 |
| Several meetings at once, or rooms of 30 | Streaming III | 4 / 8 GB / 60 GB | No per-VM ceiling | €34.99 | €44.99 |
| Dedicated videobridge for a busy server | Streaming IV | 6 / 16 GB / 80 GB | No per-VM ceiling | €59.99 | €76.99 |
Ashburn is also open for orders if your participants are in North America. Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Vienna are on preorder with about 14 days' delivery.
When should you add a second Jitsi videobridge?
The handbook's scalable setup names the videobridge as the first limit and notes that the default install is already prepared for more bridges. Add one when the bridge's CPU stays high during your busy hour, when outbound traffic nears the shape's ceiling, or when you want meetings to survive one bridge failing.
The layout is one main server with nginx, Prosody and Jicofo, plus bridges that run only jitsi-videobridge2. On the main server, keep 80 and 443 open to the world and open 5222/tcp only to the bridges' IPs. On each bridge, open 10000/udp to the world. The handbook sizes the main server at 4 CPU and 8 GB, and bridges at 4 or 8 CPU with 8 GB. When a conference starts, Jicofo picks a bridge for it, so one large room still lives on one bridge: more bridges add meetings, not people per meeting.
On Noded that maps to VPS IV for the main server and Streaming III or IV for each bridge, in the same location to keep signalling local. Each VPS has its own public IPv4.
Questions people ask
How many users can a Jitsi Meet server handle?
It depends on layout and bandwidth more than on CPU. By the handbook's per-stream figures, a typical 20-person meeting needs about 120 Mbps of outbound traffic, while the same meeting with everyone at 720p needs nearly 1 Gbps.
Which ports does Jitsi Meet use?
80 and 443 TCP for the web app and certificates, 10000 UDP for media, and optionally 3478 UDP and 5349 TCP for coturn. External videobridges also need 5222 TCP to Prosody, open only to the bridges.
Can I run Jitsi Meet on a 2 GB VPS?
The handbook says 2 GB is for test servers or very small meetings. For regular team use, start at 4 GB, and 8 GB is the usual suggestion.
Is self-hosted Jitsi GDPR compliant?
Hosting it in the EU puts the server, its logs and the bridge traffic under EU law, but compliance also depends on what you configure and log. Check the third-party services in config.js, such as the default STUN server.
EU-hosted video calls on Noded
With Jitsi, calls of three or more people flow through your videobridge, so its location is where the meeting data travels. Pick Bucharest or Sofia and the VPS and any images you capture stay in the EU under GDPR; our data processing agreement is part of the Terms, and the GDPR hosting page explains the details. One detail to change: the default config.js points peer-to-peer STUN at a server run by the Jitsi project, so if you run coturn, swap in your own stun: address. If you also run a team mesh, our Headscale guide covers keeping the admin side private. To start, order a shape from the VPS hosting page and run a test call before inviting the team.