Ant Media Server
Ant Media Server 3.1 rebuilds its management panel and adds multi-audio SRT.
Comparison · Meetings
Asterisk vs Mux
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asterisk and Mux — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Asterisk vs Mux: 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 Mux?
Mux Robots lands on the Free plan and gains a Directives API for programmatic video workflow control.
Mux is expanding its Robots automation layer through both broader access and deeper control. Robots — which handles automated video processing tasks like thumbnail selection — is now available on the Free plan with 100K units/month. The Directives API, released in July, brought programmatic control over Robots workflows that previously required dashboard interaction. The mobile SDKs gained offline DRM on Android, and analytics gained rendition-level playing time tracking.
Asterisk vs Mux: 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.
Mux
5.0MEETINGSCOMMS
Mux Robots lands on the Free plan and gains a Directives API for programmatic video workflow control.
◆ Current state
Mux is expanding its Robots automation layer through both broader access and deeper control. Robots — which handles automated video processing tasks like thumbnail selection — is now available on the Free plan with 100K units/month. The Directives API, released in July, brought programmatic control over Robots workflows that previously required dashboard interaction. The mobile SDKs gained offline DRM on Android, and analytics gained rendition-level playing time tracking.
◆ Where it's heading
Mux is systematically moving its video intelligence features from premium to broader availability and from dashboard-only to API-first. Robots is emerging as the central abstraction over the video pipeline — the same layer that today handles thumbnails will likely expand to transcoding, captioning, and moderation. The Directives API makes Robots something teams can integrate into CI/CD pipelines or CMS workflows, not just trigger manually.
◆ Prediction
The next Mux move is likely expanding Robots Directives to cover transcoding and captioning workflows, turning Robots into a full programmatic replacement for manual dashboard-driven video processing.
Alternatives to Asterisk and Mux
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 Mux.
Red5
Red5 2.2.0 makes JDK 25 the minimum after a run of thinly documented patches.
3CX
3CX is retiring its own cloud transcription and pushing customers to bring their own AI.
Wildix
Wildix pairs security certifications with Wilma AI handling front-line partner support.
Eventcombo
Eventcombo's feed stays on 2027 buyer guides, now for webinars and production.
JW Player
JW Player now writes captions automatically for every new upload.
See all Asterisk alternatives → · See all Mux alternatives →
Recent activity from Asterisk and Mux
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0 final ships after four release candidates
- 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0: 35 fixes from the shared release round
- 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 22.12.0 closes the 22.11 hint regressions
- 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 20.22.0: 37 fixes on the oldest branch
- 11d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0-rc4: park hints and presence-hint crash fixed
- 11d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0-rc4: same two hint fixes
- 2mo agoMuxMux Robots is now available on the Free plan
- 2mo agoMuxTrack playing time by rendition with Mux Data
- 2mo agoMuxMux Player Android now supports offline DRM downloads
- 3mo agoMuxSet and control your default video thumbnail via API or dashboard
- 3mo agoMuxUse Mux Robots to automatically update the default thumbnail time in Mux Video
- 3mo agoMuxMux Robots Directives API now available ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Asterisk and Mux?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Asterisk and Mux are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Asterisk better than Mux?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Asterisk and Mux are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). 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 Mux?
Top Mux alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Mux alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mux for the full list with editorial commentary on each.