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Comparison · Meetings
Asterisk vs Ant Media Server
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asterisk and Ant Media Server — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Asterisk vs Ant Media Server: at a glance
What is Asterisk?
Asterisk 24.0.0 is out, with 20, 22 and 23 getting their matching releases the same hour.
Asterisk closed its release round on November 5 with 24.0.0 final plus 23.6.0, 22.12.0 and 20.22.0, each resolving 32 to 37 issues across roughly 45 commits. The final tags followed four release candidates, the last of which repaired park slot hints and a presence-hint segfault left by 22.11.0. No security advisories were part of the round.
What is Ant Media Server?
Ant Media Server 3.2 adds WHEP playback, Prometheus metrics and plugin installs from the dashboard.
Ant Media Server is a self-hosted streaming server spanning WebRTC, RTMP, SRT, HLS and LL-HLS. 3.2.0 on November 13, two months after 3.1.0, adds WHEP signalling, a Prometheus metrics endpoint with a matching Grafana dashboard, app and plugin installation from the dashboard, SRT passphrases and a new stream-source ingest manager. Its 43 bug fixes are mostly about SRT, RTSP and LL-HLS stability, plus restoring plugin files after an upgrade.
Asterisk vs Ant Media Server: editorial side-by-side
Asterisk
5.0MEETINGS
Asterisk 24.0.0 is out, with 20, 22 and 23 getting their matching releases the same hour.
◆ Current state
Asterisk closed its release round on November 5 with 24.0.0 final plus 23.6.0, 22.12.0 and 20.22.0, each resolving 32 to 37 issues across roughly 45 commits. The final tags followed four release candidates, the last of which repaired park slot hints and a presence-hint segfault left by 22.11.0. No security advisories were part of the round.
◆ Where it's heading
The project ships every supported branch in lockstep, so fixes land everywhere at once and the version number mostly signals which line a deployment is on. With 24 now final, the next round should move 24 into the same maintenance rhythm as the older branches.
◆ Prediction
Expect 24.0.1 or 24.1.0 alongside matching 20, 22 and 23 point releases in the next cycle, likely starting with release candidates again; the entries do not show which branch will drop out of the round next.
Ant Media Server
2.5MEETINGS
Ant Media Server 3.2 adds WHEP playback, Prometheus metrics and plugin installs from the dashboard.
◆ Current state
Ant Media Server is a self-hosted streaming server spanning WebRTC, RTMP, SRT, HLS and LL-HLS. 3.2.0 on November 13, two months after 3.1.0, adds WHEP signalling, a Prometheus metrics endpoint with a matching Grafana dashboard, app and plugin installation from the dashboard, SRT passphrases and a new stream-source ingest manager. Its 43 bug fixes are mostly about SRT, RTSP and LL-HLS stability, plus restoring plugin files after an upgrade.
◆ Where it's heading
The 2026 releases moved from adding protocols and codecs (SRT restreaming, AV1, RTSP output) toward running the server as operated infrastructure: monitoring, plugin management from the panel and upgrade-safe plugins. WHEP joins standard WebRTC signalling, and the MoQ library update shows the team tracking the next streaming transport, though only as a library and CDN test so far.
◆ Prediction
Expect 3.2.x patches for the SRT and plugin fixes that ship in volume with each minor; whether MoQ becomes a usable output is not clear from these notes.
Alternatives to Asterisk and Ant Media Server
Other Meetings products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Asterisk or Ant Media Server.
Eventcombo
Eventcombo adds webinar demo checklists to its 2027 buyer guides.
Fourwaves
Fourwaves doubles Free plan submissions to 50 and reworks reviewer assignment.
JW Player
JW Player's Android SDK 4.28 adds live Chromecast and new background audio controls.
Nextcloud Talk
Nextcloud Talk v23.0.14 fixes Firefox video and keeps v25 waiting at RC3.
Kurento
Kurento's JavaScript client gets a 7.3.1 point release with no notes.
See all Asterisk alternatives → · See all Ant Media Server alternatives →
Recent activity from Asterisk and Ant Media Server
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoAnt Media Server3.2.0: WHEP, Prometheus metrics and dashboard plugin installs
- 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0 final ships after four release candidates
- 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0: 35 fixes from the shared release round
- 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 22.12.0 closes the 22.11 hint regressions
- 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 20.22.0: 37 fixes on the oldest branch
- 15d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0-rc4: park hints and presence-hint crash fixed
- 15d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0-rc4: same two hint fixes
- 2mo agoAnt Media ServerNew management panel, RTSP output and multi-audio SRT ingest
- 6mo agoAnt Media Server3.0.3 maintenance build with no listed changes
- 6mo agoAnt Media Server3.0.2 code quality and stability build
- 6mo agoAnt Media Server3.0.1 adds AV1 and removes deprecated APIs
- 9mo agoAnt Media ServerRestream to SRT, local license server, on-demand playlists
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Asterisk and Ant Media Server?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Asterisk is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Asterisk better than Ant Media Server?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Asterisk is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Meetings products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Asterisk?
Top Asterisk alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Asterisk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/asterisk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Ant Media Server?
Top Ant Media Server alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ant Media Server alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ant-media-server for the full list with editorial commentary on each.