- Embedded calls and meeting links pull in different directions
- Ten SDKs sorted by the job they're built for
- Which one should you shortlist? Four common builds
- Ownership and migration paths are moving
- Ten calling SDKs compared by kind
- Every SDK from A to Z
- Put one real call through two SDKs
- For a founder shipping the first version
- Frequently asked questions
A video calling API and a meeting app look alike from the outside, but only the API puts calls inside your own product, behind your own screens and sign-in. For most developers the useful split is by job: embedded calls, live streaming, voice AI agents, or an open source stack you host yourself. Shortlist two from the group that matches yours.
Plenty of teams start this search thinking they need a meeting tool with an API bolted on. They don't. A meeting tool hands your users a link to someone else's room, while a calling SDK hands you the parts to build the room yourself, inside your app, with your own look and your own users. Below are ten APIs and SDKs for that second job, in no particular order, for developers and technical founders who want calls to feel like part of the product rather than a detour out of it.
Embedded calls and meeting links pull in different directions
Before you compare a single vendor, write down three things: where the call lives in your app, who's on it, and whether a person or an AI agent sits on the other end. Those three answers sort this category faster than any feature grid ever will.
The second answer matters more than it looks. A one-to-one appointment, a group room and a broadcast to many viewers are different builds, and several tools here describe live streaming or audio rooms as separate products from calling. The third answer is newer. Several vendors here now describe voice AI agents alongside, or ahead of, people talking to people, which tells you where their attention is going, and it's worth knowing before you tie your app to them.
Ten SDKs sorted by the job they're built for
Embedded calls inside your app
Whereby Embedded and Zoom Video SDK both describe putting video inside a product you already run, with the call screen under your control. Stream Video sits close by, with SDKs across the main mobile and web frameworks and livestreaming in the same family, which helps if one app needs both.
Live streaming and audio rooms
100ms names conferencing, live streaming and audio rooms side by side. VideoSDK adds SIP telephony to calls and streams, which matters if some of your callers will be on an ordinary phone line rather than in the app.
Voice AI agents
Agora pairs its voice and video SDKs with a conversational AI engine. LiveKit offers an open source framework for building, testing and running agents, with a cloud platform beside it for teams who don't want to host the media side.
Open source you can host yourself
Jitsi is the clearest self-hosting route: open source conferencing you run on your own servers, with a hosted service from the same team if you'd rather not. Two more names in the list belong in the ownership section further down, because their news matters more than their group.
Which one should you shortlist? Four common builds
If you're adding a consultation call to a booking app
Look at the embedded group first. The test that matters is two people on mediocre connections, one on a phone, one on a laptop, with your own call screen wrapped around the video. If it feels like your app, keep going; if it feels like a different product glued on, move on.
If you're running classes or events with an audience
Start with the live streaming group. Check what happens when a viewer joins late, when the host hands over to a guest, and when someone in the audience needs to speak. Those three moments break more event builds than video quality does.
If an AI agent will answer the call
Go to the voice AI group, and listen for turn-taking: how quickly the agent replies, and what happens when a caller interrupts it halfway through a sentence. If people will also need to talk to people on the same platform, test that path too, so you aren't running two systems.
If your call data has to stay on your own servers
The open source group is your shortlist. Plan for the hours someone on your team will spend running media servers, keeping them patched and scaling them on a busy day, because that work doesn't disappear when the code is free to download.
Ownership and migration paths are moving
Two signals from the vendors' own pages say this category is shifting. Daily's homepage now carries a banner saying it's joining Deepgram, and Zoom's Video SDK docs include a migration guide written for Twilio Video users. Neither means a product is going away, but both mean the company behind your calls in two years may not be the one you sign up with.
So the thing to test first isn't picture quality. It's how easily you could leave. Keep the vendor SDK behind a thin layer of your own code, so your app talks to your interface and only that layer talks to the vendor. Read the vendor's own news page before you commit, and ask whether recordings and call logs can be exported in a format you can use elsewhere.
Ten calling SDKs compared by kind
| Tool | Kind of tool | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| 100ms | Video infrastructure SDK | Conferencing, streams and audio rooms in one app |
| Agora | Real-time engagement platform | Voice and video products adding AI voice agents |
| Daily | Video API and WebRTC infrastructure | Human calls and voice AI on WebRTC |
| Jitsi | Open source video conferencing | Self-hosted calls, with a hosted route too |
| LiveKit | Open source realtime platform | Builders of voice, video and AI agents |
| Stream Video | In-app video and audio SDK | Mobile and web apps needing calls and streams |
| Twilio Video | SDK and API for calls | Secure calls added to an existing app |
| VideoSDK | Video and voice SDK | Calls that also reach phone lines or AI agents |
| Whereby Embedded | Embeddable video call API | Video rooms placed inside your own product |
| Zoom Video SDK | Video SDK | Custom call screens on web, mobile and desktop |
Every SDK from A to Z
Alphabetical, so the order says nothing about which is better. Each line comes from what the vendor says about its own product.
100ms
Best for: Apps that need conferencing, live streaming and audio rooms from one set of SDKs and APIs, which the vendor calls easy to integrate.
Agora
Best for: Products pairing real-time voice and video with a conversational AI engine for voice agents; the vendor claims an ultra low latency global network.
Daily
Best for: Teams running human calls and voice AI agents on the same WebRTC base; the vendor points to its global infrastructure and enterprise reliability.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Jitsi
Best for: Developers who'd rather self-host open source conferencing, with a hosted option called JaaS from the same team; the project calls it completely free.
LiveKit
Best for: Builders of realtime voice, video and AI agents who want an open source framework plus a cloud platform to deploy and observe them.
Stream Video
Best for: Mobile and web apps written in React, iOS, Android or Flutter that need in-app calls and livestreaming from one SDK family.
Twilio Video
Best for: Developers adding secure video calls to an app on a WebRTC base; the vendor highlights a Network Quality API for shaky connections.
VideoSDK
Best for: Products that mix calls, interactive live streaming, SIP telephony and AI voice agents; the vendor claims low-latency infrastructure underneath.
Whereby Embedded
Best for: Putting video rooms inside your own product through an API and SDK; the vendor describes it as developer-focused, scalable and secure.
Zoom Video SDK
Best for: Custom video experiences built on Zoom's infrastructure across web, mobile and desktop, with migration docs for teams moving off another video API.
Put one real call through two SDKs
- Pick the single call your users will make most often, such as a two-person appointment or a host with viewers.
- Choose two SDKs from the group that matches that call, and build the smallest screen that can place it.
- Run the call on a phone over mobile data and on a laptop over office wifi, and note every drop or freeze.
- Swap one vendor for the other behind your own thin interface, and time how long the change takes.
- Keep the SDK that survived the bad connection and the swap with the least rework, then build out from there.
For a founder shipping the first version
Don't build for every kind of call on day one. Ship the one call your product can't live without, on the SDK that handled your worst connection test, and keep it behind your own interface so a change of owner or direction at the vendor is an inconvenience, not a rewrite. If your app also needs chat or live updates around the call, my Sendbird alternatives list covers in-app messaging, and the Twilio alternatives list goes wider on communications APIs.
Do you make a video calling API or SDK? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a video calling API and a video conferencing app?
A conferencing app gives your users a finished room to join. An API or SDK gives you the parts to build calls inside your own product, with your own screens, sign-in and branding.
Is there a free video calling API?
One open source option here describes itself as completely free to self-host, and the others don't state a free plan on their own sites. Check each vendor's own site before you build, because plans change.
Can I use one SDK for calls and live streaming?
Several vendors here name both calling and live streaming, and one adds audio rooms. Test both modes on your own app before you assume one SDK covers them equally well.
Do I need WebRTC knowledge to use these?
Not deeply. These SDKs wrap the hard parts, but knowing the basics helps when a call fails on a poor network and you need to work out why.
How do I avoid getting stuck with one vendor?
Wrap the vendor SDK in a small interface of your own, keep call logic out of the vendor's code, and confirm you can export recordings and logs before you launch.
Which group suits a voice AI agent?
The voice AI group, where vendors lead with agent frameworks and conversational engines. Test interruptions and reply speed with real callers, not just a demo script.
