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Agora vs WebRTC: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Agora and WebRTC are both real-time communication technologies used for building audio, video, and data sharing applications. While there are similarities between the two, there are also key differences that set them apart. In this article, we will explore the major differences between Agora and WebRTC in terms of technology, features, scalability, security, and support.

  1. Technology: Agora is a cloud-based communications platform that provides a set of APIs and SDKs for developers to easily integrate real-time communication features into their applications. On the other hand, WebRTC is an open-source project that allows for peer-to-peer communication directly between web browsers without the need for plugins or third-party software.

  2. Features: Agora offers a wide range of advanced features like real-time messaging, live interactive broadcasting, and cloud recording, in addition to audio and video calls. WebRTC, although it provides the fundamental components for real-time communication, does not offer these additional features out of the box. Developers using WebRTC would need to build and integrate these features themselves.

  3. Scalability: Agora is designed to handle high-concurrency scenarios and provides a global infrastructure to allow for low-latency communications across regions. It also offers load balancing and automatic scaling, allowing applications to handle millions of concurrent users. WebRTC, being more peer-to-peer focused, may have limitations in terms of scalability for large-scale applications.

  4. Security: Agora provides end-to-end encryption for all audio and video communications, ensuring that data is transmitted securely. Agora also offers features like token authentication to prevent unauthorized access. While WebRTC also offers encryption, the level of security may vary depending on the implementation, making it more suitable for applications with lower security requirements.

  5. Support: Agora provides comprehensive documentation, sample codes, and developer support to assist developers in integrating their platform. Agora also offers SDKs for various platforms, including web, mobile, and desktop. WebRTC, on the other hand, being an open-source project, relies more on community-driven support, which may be limited in terms of resources and expertise.

  6. Additional Services: Agora provides additional services like AI-generated real-time captions, AI-powered noise reduction, and beauty filters, which can enhance user experience in audio and video communication applications. These additional services are not available with WebRTC and would need to be implemented separately if required.

In Summary, Agora is a cloud-based communications platform that offers advanced features, scalability, security, and comprehensive developer support, while WebRTC is an open-source project that provides peer-to-peer communication capabilities without the additional features and services offered by Agora.

Advice on Agora and WebRTC
Needs advice
on
Amazon ChimeAmazon Chime
and
WebRTCWebRTC

Hello. So, I wanted to make a decision on whether to use WebRTC or Amazon Chime for a conference call (meeting). My plan is to build an app with features like video broadcasting, and the ability for all the participants to talk and chat. I have used Agora's web SDK for video broadcasting, and Socket.IO for chat features. As I read the comparison between Amazon Chime and WebRTC, it further intrigues me on what I should use given my scenario? Is there any way that so many related technologies could be a hindrance to the other? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Ritwik Neema

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Replies (1)
Edwin Ifionu
Software Developer at Sproft Media Inc · | 4 upvotes · 55.4K views
Recommends
on
Amazon ChimeAmazon Chime

I would recommend Amazon Chime. If I were you, I would eventually look into working with WebRTC as it is very interesting and teaches you a lot. I dove deep into webRTC recently building a webinar broadcasting application (one-to-many) and I can say it is difficult to understand how things actually work and to get it stable. I mean you can vaguely read up on it and get some things to work by copying code on StackOverflow or using a library but that wouldn't teach you much.

In short, go with Chime because it is easy to get started especially if you have a time constraint. But look into webRTC in the future as it enables you to build your own "Chime". Hope this helped!

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Decisions about Agora and WebRTC
Siddhant Sharma
Content Marketeer at BigStep Technologies · | 3 upvotes · 6.7K views
Shared insights
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AgoraAgoraWebRTCWebRTC
in

Most of the customers these days prefer to avoid travel and stay at home. This is going to be the NEW NORMAL.

So, many Apps & Websites are now seeing a need to launch Live Video & Chat powered features like Video Interviews, Live Fitness Classes, e-Education, Online Events & Webinars, Mentorships, Tele-consultation, Live Online Performances, and more!

Most of these use-cases are about building experiences around 1-1 & Group Calling and Live Broadcasts.

Looking to build such Live Interactive Video features in your own Website or Apps? Here are a few things that can get you started with WebRTC and what to look for in an Ideal WebRTC PaaS Provider:

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Pros of Agora
Pros of WebRTC
  • 8
    Easy setup
  • 6
    RESTful API
  • 3
    OpenSource
  • 2
    No Download
  • 1
    You can write anything around it, because it's a protoc

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What is Agora?

Agora.io provides building blocks for you to add real-time voice and video communications through a simple and powerful SDK. You can integrate the Agora SDK to enable real-time communications in your own application quickly.

What is WebRTC?

It is a free, open project that enables web browsers with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple JavaScript APIs. The WebRTC components have been optimized to best serve this purpose.

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What companies use Agora?
What companies use WebRTC?
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What are some alternatives to Agora and WebRTC?
Twilio
Twilio offers developers a powerful API for phone services to make and receive phone calls, and send and receive text messages. Their product allows programmers to more easily integrate various communication methods into their software and programs.
Zoom
Zoom unifies cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings, and cross platform group chat into one easy-to-use platform. Our solution offers the best video, audio, and screen-sharing experience across Zoom Rooms, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and H.323/SIP room systems.
Jitsi
Jitsi (acquired by 8x8) is a set of open-source projects that allows you to easily build and deploy secure videoconferencing solutions. At the heart of Jitsi are Jitsi Videobridge and Jitsi Meet, which let you have conferences on the internet, while other projects in the community enable other features such as audio, dial-in, recording, and simulcasting.
Twilio SendGrid
Twilio SendGrid's cloud-based email infrastructure relieves businesses of the cost and complexity of maintaining custom email systems. Twilio SendGrid provides reliable delivery, scalability & real-time analytics along with flexible API's.
Amazon SES
Amazon SES eliminates the complexity and expense of building an in-house email solution or licensing, installing, and operating a third-party email service. The service integrates with other AWS services, making it easy to send emails from applications being hosted on services such as Amazon EC2.
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