openbnet vs Daily.co: Video Calling API Comparison

Daily.co (Daily) is a modern video API with a managed SFU and a polished web SDK. openbnet is a WebRTC-mesh platform with chat and streaming included. Here is how they compare for video.

TL;DR

Daily.co is focused narrowly on video — a managed SFU (selective forwarding unit) with a great React SDK and recording. It handles larger group calls (up to ~50 participants) well. openbnet uses a WebRTC mesh (better for small groups) but bundles chat, streaming, signaling, and AI moderation into one platform.

Choose Daily.co for pure videoCalling with large groups and recording. Choose openbnet when you need video + chat + streaming from one stack and your calls stay under ~10 participants.

Architecture

Daily.co runs a managed SFU: each participant sends one stream to the server, which forwards it to others. This scales to larger groups (SFU cost is O(N) not O(N²) like mesh) and Centralized recording is straightforward. The trade-off is a server hop adds ~50–100ms latency.

openbnet uses direct WebRTC mesh: peers connect P2P where NAT allows, with STUN/TURN fallback. For 2–6 participants this gives the lowest possible latency (no server media hop). Above ~10 participants the mesh becomes computationally expensive (each peer maintains N-1 connections).

• Daily.co: managed SFU, scales to ~50 participants, server-side recording
• openbnet: WebRTC mesh, lowest latency for small groups, ~10 participant cap
• Daily.co: React/JS SDK, iframe embed, custom layouts
• openbnet: raw WebRTC API + WebSocket signaling, full control over UI
• Daily.co: video-only focus (chat via separate provider)
• openbnet: video + chat + streaming + moderation unified

Pricing

Daily.co prices per participant-minute for video. Free tier includes 10,000 minutes/month. Group calls with many participants burn through minutes quickly (a 5-person 60-min call = 300 participant-minutes).

openbnet bundles 100 video minutes into Free and 10,000 into Pro ($99/mo). Minutes are call-minutes, not participant-minutes, so the 5-person call uses 60 minutes, not 300. This is 5× cheaper for group calls.

When Daily.co is the better choice

• Group calls with 10+ participants (SFU scales better)
• You need server-side recording or live streaming to RTMP
• You want a polished drop-in React video component
• Video-only is fine (you use a separate chat provider)

When openbnet is the better choice

• Small-group video calls (2–10 participants)
• You also need chat, streaming, or AI moderation
• Participant-minute pricing makes Daily.co expensive for your call patterns
• You want raw WebRTC control for custom media pipelines

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