Ant Media Server
Ant Media Server 3.1 rebuilds its management panel and adds multi-audio SRT.
Comparison · Meetings
Asterisk vs Red5
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asterisk and Red5 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Asterisk vs Red5: 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 Red5?
Red5 2.2.0 makes JDK 25 the minimum after a run of thinly documented patches.
Red5 is a Java media server built around RTMP. Red5 Server 2.2.0 made JDK 25 the baseline, cleaned removed JVM flags out of the launch scripts and fixed service setup, after 2.0.49 made the AMF0 and AMF3 codecs spec-compliant. Tags such as 2.0.53 continue alongside it with no notes beyond a changelog link.
Asterisk vs Red5: 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.
Red5
5.0MEETINGS
Red5 2.2.0 makes JDK 25 the minimum after a run of thinly documented patches.
◆ Current state
Red5 is a Java media server built around RTMP. Red5 Server 2.2.0 made JDK 25 the baseline, cleaned removed JVM flags out of the launch scripts and fixed service setup, after 2.0.49 made the AMF0 and AMF3 codecs spec-compliant. Tags such as 2.0.53 continue alongside it with no notes beyond a changelog link.
◆ Where it's heading
After the patch run, Red5 is modernizing its runtime and packaging rather than adding media features. The servlet module is back in the build but not yet shipped, so finishing that packaging is the visible open item.
◆ Prediction
A 2.2.x follow-up that packages the servlet module (restoring RTMPT) and fixes service installs on JDK 25 is likely, since the 2.2.0 notes name both as known issues.
Alternatives to Asterisk and Red5
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 Red5.
3CX
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Wildix
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Eventcombo
Eventcombo's feed stays on 2027 buyer guides, now for webinars and production.
JW Player
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Fourwaves
Fourwaves adds reusable email templates for paid plans in a week of small fixes.
See all Asterisk alternatives → · See all Red5 alternatives →
Recent activity from Asterisk and Red5
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4d agoRed5Red5 Server 2.0.53
- 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
- 6d agoRed5Red5 2.2.0 makes JDK 25 the minimum Java version
- 10d agoRed5Red5 2.0.52: Tomcat 11.0.27 bump
- 11d agoRed5Red5 2.0.51 inlines fMP4 packaging, drops a dependency
- 11d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0-rc4: park hints and presence-hint crash fixed
- 11d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0-rc4: same two hint fixes
- 15d agoRed5Red5 2.0.50 fixes overloaded service method lookup
- 15d agoRed5Red5 2.0.49: spec-compliant AMF0/AMF3 codecs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Asterisk and Red5?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Asterisk and Red5 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 Red5?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Asterisk and Red5 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 Red5?
Top Red5 alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Red5 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/red5 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.