WebRTC vs Agora: What to Choose and Key Differences

WebRTC powers approximately 65% of real-time communication apps, favoured for its open-source flexibility. Agora holds around 35% market share, preferred for its scalability and robust feature set, particularly among large enterprises and high-demand applications.

Highlights

• WebRTC is integrated into over 1,200+ applications globally, highlighting its widespread use in startups and small to medium projects.
• Agora supports up to 50,000 concurrent users per session, making it ideal for large-scale events and virtual conferences.
• Developers report a 40% reduction in development time with Agora’s SDKs compared to building from scratch with WebRTC.
• Agora maintains a 99.98% uptime across its global network, ensuring consistent real-time communication without interruptions.

Co-Founder

Vandana Abrol

4 min read

An enthusiastic developer and skilled business management expert with over a decade of experience in the field

Selecting the correct framework when creating real-time communication applications can greatly impact your project's success. Two prominent technologies are WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) and Agora. Both are powerful yet designed for different purposes, equipped with features like APIs, AWS analytics, and reporting tools. This blog explores the major distinctions between WebRTC and Agora to guide you in choosing the best platform for your mobile or web application, whether for iOS, Android, or cross-platform development.

What is WebRTC?

WebRTC is an open-source project for implementing real-time web communication (RTC) directly in browsers and mobile apps. It facilitates peer-to-peer audio, video, and data exchanges without the need for plugins or additional software. WebRTC is particularly suited for developers working with Java, JavaScript, or platforms like Netty WebRTC to create tailored communication solutions.

Key Features of WebRTC

1. Open-Source: As an open-source platform, WebRTC is free and widely supported by a global community. This flexibility benefits developers using frameworks like Delphi or Java to create communication features tailored to specific applications.
2. Browser Compatibility: WebRTC works seamlessly across most modern web browsers which include, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. This broad compatibility makes it perfect for web developers who wish to add real-time communication features on sites without worrying about cross-browser issues
3. Peer-to-Peer Communication: Peer-to-peer connection is the type of connection that WebRTC is created to provide to the users. This connection is much faster and provides less delay and hence is used for applications that need real-time response and energy efficiency such as video conferencing and online gaming.
4. Flexibility: WebRTC offers a comprehensive set of APIs for developers working with JavaScript or other languages, enabling them to build highly customizable communication features.

What is Agora?

Agora is an all-in-one real-time engagement solution offering SDKs (Software Development Kits) for iOS, Android, and web platforms. Unlike WebRTC, Agora is a commercial, cloud-based solution tailored for multinational, high-quality real-time communication needs. Developers can integrate it with advanced AWS analytics and reporting tools for deeper insights and performance tracking.

Key Features of Agora:

1. High-Quality Communication: Agora leverages a global network of data centres to ensure high-quality, low-latency communication, even under poor network conditions. Its robust infrastructure supports real-time reporting tools for better performance monitoring.
2. Scalability: Agora is meant to host many attendees and it is perfect for event broadcasting, teaching and learning in online classes, and massive virtual conferences. This scalability is important, especially for businesses that anticipate rapid growth in their applications or for those that target many users.
3. Ease of Use: Agora's user-friendly APIs simplify integration, allowing developers to focus on critical aspects of app development in languages like Java or Delphi. These SDKs have gotten to include hospitalized functions which help the programmers to save on time and code as they concentrate on other aspects of mobile application development.
4. Support and Reliability: Finally, as a commercial product, Agora provides its clients with good customer support which may be very helpful when working with applications that are critical to a business. Regarding its reliability, the platform has a strong infrastructure to support it in performing well in different geographical areas and applications.

Key Differences Between WebRTC and Agora

Cost

WebRTC: Some benefits of using WebRTC are also that it is an open-source project, which is free of charge for web developers or businesses. But For people who are creating a big portal or a social network, there can be expenses on server creation and maintenance.

Agora: Agora provides features on a paid basis charging operations based on minutes used, number of participants, and additional services such as live streaming. This cost structure is something that has to be taken into account especially when it comes to applications that are large scale or applications that are used frequently.

Ease of Integration

WebRTC: While WebRTC offers flexibility, developers must configure settings independently. However, this hands-on approach suits developers using Netty WebRTC, JavaScript, or Java who need a customizable architecture. However, this results in more flexible architecture and more flexibility should come with the burden of increasing web developers’ understanding of the technology.

Agora: Agora’s SDKs are developed to be as simple as possible because the company offers out-of-the-box solutions that can be easily implemented. This is normally helpful in shortening the development cycle and easing it, beneficial in the case of a team that wants to release a product into the market very soon.

Scalability

WebRTC: Scaling WebRTC by the nature of the peer-to-peer system is suitable for applications with a limited number of users but can prove to be difficult when the number of participants is large. For example, when the users initiate a big group video call, extra infrastructure like a Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU) must be utilized to deal with lots of stream flows.

Agora: Agora is very scalable, which means that the design of the program is made to cater to future expansion. It can easily work with applications that have many simultaneous users, and this makes it suitable for occasions, such as conferences, and online classes, among others that require high scalability.

Performance

WebRTC: The functionality of WebRTC does not remain constant due to which it greatly depends on the Internet connection and the server side. Because it is based on the direct connections between users the communication quality depends on the distance between the parties, and the stability of the network.

Agora: Still, Agora boasts better consistency of its performance due to the presence of its network scale around the entire globe. This helps to reduce and control the break times average while improving the quality of communication that is to be done regardless of the time or the place of the users making it suitable for important operations.

Customization

WebRTC: WebRTC is very flexible and it's the strength of developers. Developers have fully fledged management over the communication stack whereby they are in a position to fully design unique solutions that are ideal for their commercial ventures.

Agora: Hence, we can define Agora’s approach as a more traditional one, and what it provides is a solid, black-box neutrally tested pipeline. This may be a drawback if, for instance, you are working on a project that needs to have certain features that are not offered by Agora’s SDKs.

Use Cases and Applications

WebRTC Use Cases

1. One-to-One Video Calls: Best suited to the design of a p2p service or application where one peer talks directly to another.
2. Web Conferencing: That is why with additional server facilities, WebRTC can be used for group meetings.
3. File Sharing: WebRTC data channels are very important for sending files securely and between two peers only.

Agora Use Cases

1. Large-Scale Live Streaming: One of the main applications of Agora is to broadcast to a large number of users, for such purposes as online events, webinars,s or concerts.
2. Virtual Classrooms: The incorporation of social learning features has made Agora suitable for use in e-learning institutions.
3. Gaming: In the majority of multiplayer gaming, voice, and video communication in real-time is crucial, and Agora has perfectly addressed it.
4. Healthcare Teleconferencing: Described below are key aspects of Agora’s building block that make the technology secure for use in telemedicine applications; The Agora building block is scalable making it ideal for telemedicine.

Which One is Better for You?

1. Choose WebRTC if you require an affordable, flexible, and customizable solution for small to medium projects, especially those built using Netty WebRTC, Java, or JavaScript.
2. Opt for Agora if you need a scalable, high-performance solution with advanced features like reporting tools, live streaming, and global connectivity. This platform is perfect for large-scale applications in education, entertainment, or telehealth.

Final Words

WebRTC and Agora are strong real-time communication tools, yet they are designed for various purposes.

If WebRTC is sufficient for the plan and doesn’t require more features, then one could stick with WebRTC, otherwise, in case you need more features and have the resources to pay for using Agora – go for it. So if you want full control, need to be cheap, and your application does not need to scale a lot, WebRTC is totally for you. On the other hand, if you require more sophisticated features, seamless integration capabilities, and a high volume of communication Agora provides a more complete, controlled client API.

Each of them is well suited for its domain, so the choice between them depends on the size of your audience, your technological capabilities, and the required functionality.

Build a Real-Time Communication App with Digittrix

When building a real-time communication app, choosing between WebRTC and Agora is crucial. WebRTC offers customizable, peer-to-peer connections without plugins, while Agora provides a scalable platform with advanced features like live streaming and recording. If you're looking to develop your web or mobile app with the perfect technology, contact Digittrix.

If you want to build a top-notch app, digittrix can help you make the right choice. We are a leading web and mobile app development Company with 14 years of Experience and expert developers at DIGITTRIX!

If you too want to build an app and are unsure of how to begin the process, schedule your appointment or book your consultation today with our expert technical managers by calling +91 8727000867

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