3CX
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Comparison · Meetings
Ant Media Server vs Riverside.fm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ant Media Server and Riverside.fm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Ant Media Server vs Riverside.fm: at a glance
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.
What is Riverside.fm?
Riverside ships Co-Creator, an AI repurposing assistant turning one recording into promos, clips, and thumbnails.
Riverside's most visible recent move is Co-Creator, an AI creative partner that turns a single recording into promos, clips, thumbnails, and other content variants. The remainder of the feed is sparse — older evergreen marketing pages, a 2024 performance update, and a Brightcove webinar promo — which suggests a thin changelog cadence with one anchoring product push. The platform's positioning continues to lean on the prior Riverside 2.0 launch as the all-in-one remote recording and editing hub.
Ant Media Server vs Riverside.fm: editorial side-by-side
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.
Riverside.fm
3.8MEETINGS
Riverside ships Co-Creator, an AI repurposing assistant turning one recording into promos, clips, and thumbnails.
◆ Current state
Riverside's most visible recent move is Co-Creator, an AI creative partner that turns a single recording into promos, clips, thumbnails, and other content variants. The remainder of the feed is sparse — older evergreen marketing pages, a 2024 performance update, and a Brightcove webinar promo — which suggests a thin changelog cadence with one anchoring product push. The platform's positioning continues to lean on the prior Riverside 2.0 launch as the all-in-one remote recording and editing hub.
◆ Where it's heading
Riverside is moving deeper into AI-driven repurposing — treating the recording stage as the entry point of a content multiplication pipeline rather than the final product. The Co-Creator framing positions Riverside against Descript and Captions for creators who want to shoot once and ship many derivative assets. The sparseness of the surrounding changelog suggests product investment is concentrated rather than incremental.
◆ Prediction
Expect Co-Creator to expand from clip/thumbnail generation into platform-native variants (vertical for TikTok/Reels, square for Instagram) and to tie into Riverside's existing transcription and editing surfaces, possibly with tiered plan entitlements.
Alternatives to Ant Media Server and Riverside.fm
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 Ant Media Server or Riverside.fm.
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 Ant Media Server alternatives → · See all Riverside.fm alternatives →
Recent activity from Ant Media Server and Riverside.fm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoAnt Media Server3.2.0: WHEP, Prometheus metrics and dashboard plugin installs
- 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
- 7mo agoRiverside.fmMeet Co-Creator: Your New Creative Partner ⚡
- 7mo agoRiverside.fmSpeed boosts and performance updates
- 9mo agoAnt Media ServerRestream to SRT, local license server, on-demand playlists
- 9mo agoRiverside.fmWant more out of your online recording studio and video platform duo? This one’s for you!
- 1y agoRiverside.fmMeet Co-Creator: Your New Creative Partner
- 2y agoRiverside.fmMeet the New Riverside: The One Place To Record, Edit & Share Conversations
- 2y agoRiverside.fmRiverside is improving the workflow of online creators by giving them tools to easily create professional-quality content.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ant Media Server and Riverside.fm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Riverside.fm is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 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 Ant Media Server better than Riverside.fm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Riverside.fm is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to Riverside.fm?
Top Riverside.fm alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Riverside.fm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/riverside-fm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.