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Asterisk vs SRS

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asterisk and SRS — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Asterisk vs SRS: at a glance

FeatureAsteriskSRS
SectorMeetingsMeetings
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesrelease candidates, backport discipline, multi-branch releases, telephony corestreaming server, webrtc, rtmp, performance benchmarks
Last editorial update20h ago6h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Asterisk?

Asterisk 24 is at rc4, and the latest round is repairing regressions left by 22.11.

A release round is in candidate stage across 20.22.0, 22.12.0, 23.6.0 and 24.0.0, all tagged within minutes. October 29's rc4 carries two fixes on every branch: park slot hints stuck at Unavailable after startup, and a segfault when a hint loses its presence part, both regressions from 22.11.0. 22.12.0-rc4 adds a third fix for a subscription leak on dialplan reload. rc3 a week earlier was a single PJSIP WebSocket contact fix.

Read the full Asterisk trajectory →

What is SRS?

SRS now runs three release lines at once and publishes A/B CPU benchmarks with each build.

SRS, the open-source media streaming server, cut v6.0-r3, v7.0-a4 and v8.0-d3 within two minutes on 31 October. Each release now carries an A/B CPU benchmark across 16 delivery scenarios: 6.0-r3 trims 4-6% CPU on RTMP, HTTP-FLV and HTTP-TS, while both 7.0-a4 and 8.0-d3 show RTSP delivery using about 30% more CPU than the prior build. Release commits are co-authored with Claude.

Read the full SRS trajectory →

Asterisk vs SRS: editorial side-by-side

A
Asterisk
MEETINGS
5.0

Asterisk 24 is at rc4, and the latest round is repairing regressions left by 22.11.

◆ Current state

A release round is in candidate stage across 20.22.0, 22.12.0, 23.6.0 and 24.0.0, all tagged within minutes. October 29's rc4 carries two fixes on every branch: park slot hints stuck at Unavailable after startup, and a segfault when a hint loses its presence part, both regressions from 22.11.0. 22.12.0-rc4 adds a third fix for a subscription leak on dialplan reload. rc3 a week earlier was a single PJSIP WebSocket contact fix.

◆ Where it's heading

Each candidate round now takes one to three issues, which is how a cycle close to final looks, though four candidates is a longer run than August's rc1, rc2 and final. The lockstep model multiplies repair work: one 22.11.0 hint regression needed the same fix on all four branches.

◆ Prediction

Expect final tags on all four branches together once candidates stop taking fixes, with the certified track following. 24.0.0 final will show what the new line changes; the rc4 User and Upgrade Notes sections are empty.

S
SRS
MEETINGS
5.0

SRS now runs three release lines at once and publishes A/B CPU benchmarks with each build.

◆ Current state

SRS, the open-source media streaming server, cut v6.0-r3, v7.0-a4 and v8.0-d3 within two minutes on 31 October. Each release now carries an A/B CPU benchmark across 16 delivery scenarios: 6.0-r3 trims 4-6% CPU on RTMP, HTTP-FLV and HTTP-TS, while both 7.0-a4 and 8.0-d3 show RTSP delivery using about 30% more CPU than the prior build. Release commits are co-authored with Claude.

◆ Where it's heading

Release engineering is becoming the product's visible discipline: stable, alpha and dev lines ship together with measured performance deltas rather than feature notes. The 7.0 line has moved from dev snapshots into alphas, and 8.0 now takes the dev-snapshot slot.

◆ Prediction

The shared RTSP regression in 7.0-a4 and 8.0-d3 is the obvious thing for the next alpha and dev builds to address, given the benchmarks now flag it on every release.

Alternatives to Asterisk and SRS

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 SRS.

See all Asterisk alternatives → · See all SRS alternatives →

Recent activity from Asterisk and SRS

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2d agoSRSSRS 8.0 dev3: RTMP CPU down 7.6%, RTSP up 29%
  2. 2d agoSRSSRS 7.0 alpha4: RTSP delivery uses 31% more CPU
  3. 2d agoSRSSRS 6.0-r3 cuts RTMP and HTTP-FLV CPU by 4-6%
  4. 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0-rc4: park hints and presence-hint crash fixed
  5. 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0-rc4: same two hint fixes
  6. 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 22.12.0-rc4: hint fixes plus reload leak
  7. 4d agoAsteriskAsterisk 20.22.0-rc4: same two hint fixes
  8. 7d agoSRSSRS 7.0 alpha3 snapshot
  9. 9d agoSRSSRS 8.0 dev2 snapshot
  10. 11d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0-rc3: PJSIP WebSocket contact fix
  11. 11d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0-rc3: PJSIP WebSocket contact fix
  12. 11d agoSRSSRS 8.0 dev1 snapshot

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Asterisk and SRS?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Asterisk and SRS 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 SRS?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Asterisk and SRS 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 SRS?

Top SRS alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SRS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/srs for the full list with editorial commentary on each.