Digital Samba
Anyone who wants truly free, unlimited video conferencing without compromises — plus privacy-conscious organizations and developers needing GDPR-native embedded video via Digital Samba Embedded
Livestorm
Marketing and sales teams that need professional webinar hosting with built-in registration, analytics, and engagement tools
Score Comparison
Pricing & Features
Making Your Decision
When to Choose Digital Samba
Anyone who wants truly free, unlimited video conferencing without compromises — plus privacy-conscious organizations and developers needing GDPR-native embedded video via Digital Samba Embedded
Digital Samba offers something no other platform can match: a completely free video conferencing product (DS Free) with no participant limits, no session time limits, and no 40-minute gotchas — a genuine free alternative to the Big 3. The company makes its money through Digital Samba Embedded, a VPaaS product for developers who need white-label video with full API/SDK access and EU-only data residency. The collaboration toolset — breakout rooms, whiteboard, polling, quizzes, Q&A, shared notes — goes deeper than many premium competitors. With 20+ years in business and privacy baked into the architecture (not bolted on), Digital Samba is a serious contender that flies under the radar.
Strengths
- DS Free is completely free with no participant limits, no time limits, and no catch — a genuine alternative to Zoom, Teams, and Meet without the annoying 40-minute cap
- Privacy-first, GDPR-native platform — all infrastructure EU-only, zero-tracking business model, no data sold or shared
- Comprehensive feature set rivaling premium platforms — breakout rooms, whiteboard, polling (30 options), quizzes, Q&A with upvoting, shared notes, and AI captions/transcriptions/summaries
- Full API parity with the UI, SDK, webhooks, and CNAME white-labeling — strongest embedded/VPaaS offering for developers via Digital Samba Embedded
Limitations
- Embedded product uses EUR-based pricing and usage-based model (participation minutes), which adds complexity vs simple per-seat pricing
- Less brand recognition outside Europe — smaller community and fewer third-party reviews compared to the Big 3
- AI features launched recently (late 2025) — functional but still maturing compared to Zoom AI Companion or Teams Copilot
When to Choose Livestorm
Marketing and sales teams that need professional webinar hosting with built-in registration, analytics, and engagement tools
Livestorm is a webinar-first platform that does one thing very well: professional virtual events with registration, engagement tracking, and on-demand replays. It's not designed to compete with Zoom or Teams for daily meetings. If you run webinars regularly, it's excellent. For general meetings, look elsewhere.
Strengths
- Purpose-built for webinars and virtual events with registration pages, landing pages, and email workflows
- AI-powered summaries and engagement analytics for every session
- Browser-based — no downloads needed for hosts or attendees
- Up to 3,000 attendees on paid plans, with on-demand replay built in
Limitations
- Expensive at $79/mo — primarily a webinar tool, not a daily meeting platform
- Free tier is extremely limited: 10 attendees, 20-minute sessions
- Overkill for standard internal team meetings
