LiveKit vs Jitsi vs Google Meet - Simple Cost Comparison

Comparison Setup

We are comparing three ways to add video sessions to a mental health app: a custom video SDK with LiveKit, an embedded meeting room with Jitsi as a Service, and a Workspace-based flow with Google Meet.

The goal is simple: estimate what each option costs for counselor-client sessions, with and without recording, at a scale of 5,000 monthly clients.

5,000 Clients per month

5,000 Sessions per month

225K Session minutes per month

50 Counselor seats assumed

Pricing Assumptions

To keep the comparison fair and easy to understand, all costs below use the same usage model.

Metric	Assumption Used
Active clients	5,000 monthly active clients
Session volume	Each client has one 45-minute counselor session per month, so 5,000 sessions/month
Participant minutes	Two people per session: client + counselor. 5,000 x 45 x 2 = 450,000 participant-minutes/month
Recording minutes	If every session is recorded: 5,000 x 45 = 225,000 recording minutes/month
Google Meet seats	50 paid counselor seats. Clients join as guests. If all 5,000 users need paid Workspace seats, cost changes massively.
Excluded from estimate	Taxes, storage overages, optional transcription, SMS reminders, custom enterprise discounts, and internal engineering cost

Per-Session Cost

This is the simplest view: how much one 45-minute counselor session costs with and without recording, after applying the scale assumptions above.

Platform	Without Recording	With Recording	What This Means
LiveKit	~$0.04/session	~$0.75/session	Cheap without recording. Recording every full video session makes the cost much higher.
Jitsi / JaaS	~$0.60/session	~$1.05/session	Predictable by monthly active users, but 5,000 users moves into enterprise or overage territory.
Google Meet	~$0.17/session	~$0.17/session*	Cheapest when only counselors are paid Workspace users and clients join as guests.

*Google Meet has no listed per-minute recording fee on eligible Workspace editions, but recordings use Google Drive storage and need proper admin, consent, retention, and access controls.

Yearly Cost For 5,000 Clients

This compares the yearly cost for 5,000 monthly client sessions. For Google Meet, the model assumes 50 paid counselor accounts and guest client joins.

Estimated Yearly Cost

Meet no recording

$10.1K

Meet recorded

$10.1K

LiveKit no recording

$2.4K

LiveKit recorded

$45.1K

JaaS no recording

$35.7K

JaaS recorded

$62.7K

LiveKit no-recording uses Ship usage math. LiveKit recorded uses Scale because it is cheaper for this recording volume. JaaS 5,000-user pricing is officially Enterprise/contact-sales; the estimate uses the published Business tier plus $0.99/MAU overage and should be treated as a public-pricing approximation.

Platform	Yearly Without Recording	Yearly With Recording	Cheapest?
LiveKit	~$2,400	~$45,060	Cheapest if you do not record sessions.
Jitsi / JaaS	~$35,748*	~$62,748*	Not cheapest, but fast to embed.
Google Meet	~$10,080	~$10,080 + storage governance	Cheapest if every session must be recorded.

*JaaS official 5,000+ tier says contact sales. The number shown is a transparent estimate using published Business pricing and overage. A sales quote could be lower or higher.

Feature Comparison

Feature	LiveKit	Jitsi / JaaS	Google Meet
Screen sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Recording	Yes, API based	Yes, add-on or Jibri	Yes, on eligible Workspace editions
App-native UX	Best	Good	Limited
Fastest to launch	Needs build work	Fast	Fastest
HIPAA path	BAA required before PHI use	8x8 says BAA available	Workspace BAA required before PHI use
Best use	Long-term mental health app integration	Embedded video with less custom build	Low-cost operations with Google Workspace

Final Conclusion

Best Product Fit

LiveKit

Choose LiveKit if the video session is part of the mental health product itself. It gives the cleanest control over consent, waiting rooms, roles, recording, safety flows, and future AI features.

Lowest Recorded Cost

Meet

Choose Google Meet if the main priority is low cost and counselors already use Google Workspace. The important assumption is that clients join as guests, not paid Workspace users.

If you want the cheapest answer: use Google Meet with paid counselor seats and guest client access. It is the lowest yearly cost when recording is required.

If you want the best product answer: use LiveKit. It is the better long-term fit for a mental health app because the session can be fully controlled inside your own product.

If you want the fastest embedded launch: use Jitsi as a Service. It is a good middle path, but at 5,000 users the pricing should be confirmed with 8x8 sales.

Recommended path: start with Google Meet or Jitsi for quick validation, but plan LiveKit if counselor sessions become a core product experience with consent, recording, notes, safety workflows, and AI features.

Sources Checked

Pricing and feature data can change. These links were checked while building this story on May 11, 2026.