Video conferencing Server Capacity Planning

Comprehensive estimates for VPS and dedicated servers with cost analysis

Plan your video conferencing deployment with confidence. This guide provides realistic capacity estimates based on real-world testing and community best practices.

Hard Limit for a single server

600 users maximum for standalone all-in-one servers regardless of hardware

Bandwidth Needs

~5.5Mbps per Chrome user

Optimal Performance

35 users for best experience on public servers

Understanding Capacity Constraints

Video conferencing server capacity planning is complex and depends heavily on bandwidth and CPU resources. The critical bottleneck is typically the component which handles all media routing.


For optimal performance at scale, best practices include optimizing settings, allocating ample heap memory, adjusting garbage collection parameters, and deploying multiple servers. Firefox users consume significantly more bandwidth and system resources compared to Chrome users.

VPS Server Capacity Estimates

Entry Level
Mid Tier
High End

Entry Level VPS (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM)

Ideal for small teams and occasional meetings

Minimum
5-8 users
Average
10-15 users
Maximum
20-25 users
Monthly Cost estimate : USD 20
Bandwidth Consideration: A 500MB network link would support approximately 100 concurrent users, making bandwidth a critical factor for planning.

Dedicated Server Capacity Estimates

Server Tier Specifications Min/Avg/Max Users Monthly Cost
Budget Dedicated 4 cores, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, 1Gbps port 50-60 / 80-100 / 150-180 users $200
Production Dedicated 8 cores, 32GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, 1Gbps port 100-120 / 150-200 / 250-300 users $400
Enterprise Server 16+ cores, 64GB+ RAM, 2TB NVMe, 10Gbps port 200-250 / 300-400 / 500+ users $800+
Enterprise Scaling Note: To accommodate approximately 1000-1500 users, specialized setups are needed. Larger servers with 48 vCPUs and 96GB of memory are required.

Deployment Recommendations

👥 Small Teams (5-20 users)

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Entry-level VPS with 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM

$6-20/month

Perfect for startups and small departments

🏢 Medium Business (20-50 users)

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Mid-tier VPS with 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM

$40-60/month

Ideal for regular team meetings and webinars

🎯 Large Organizations (50-150 users)

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Budget dedicated server

$80-180/month

Best value for consistent high-volume usage

🚀 Enterprise (150+ users)

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Production dedicated server with clustering

$160-400+/month

For mission-critical deployments requiring maximum reliability

For mission-critical deployments exceeding 100 simultaneous users, we strongly recommend starting with a mid-tier dedicated server and conducting thorough load testing before going live. Capacity planning involves many subjective factors, and the best approach varies significantly based on your specific audience size and usage patterns.