Hi ,I want to use livekit for a hackathon.The prob...
# ask-aia
acoustic-photographer-12677
07/22/2025, 1:18 AMHi ,I want to use livekit for a hackathon.The problem statement is AI based interview platform.is lvekit complete free or do we need to pay at any point of time. Do we have any downside of using livekit in a hackathon or we need to build from scratch?
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tall-airline-16756
07/22/2025, 1:18 AMThanks for reaching out, Muruganandam. I'm an AI assistant and I'm here to help. Give me a moment while I research this topic.
tall-airline-16756
07/22/2025, 1:19 AMLiveKit is free to use for hackathons and personal projects through the Build plan, which includes:
• 50GB data transfer
• 5,000 connection minutes
• 60 minutes of transcoding (for stream import or composite recording)
• 100 concurrent participants
• 1,000 telephony minutes
These free quotas are typically more than enough for hackathon projects. If you exceed these limits, LiveKit charges based on usage, such as $0.0005 per connection minute and $0.12 per GB of outbound data. Upstream bandwidth is free.
For an AI-based interview platform, LiveKit is well-suited and explicitly supports use cases involving AI assistants and voice/video agents. The main limitations to be aware of are:
• 100 concurrent participants maximum
• 2 concurrent recording or streaming output sessions at a time
• 2 concurrent streaming input sessions at a time
These limits are generally sufficient for hackathon-scale projects. There is no need to build your own video/audio infrastructure from scratch—LiveKit provides the core real-time communication features you need.
In summary, LiveKit is free for most hackathon use cases, and its limitations are unlikely to impact typical hackathon projects.
Sources: Intro to LiveKit | LiveKit Docs | Quotas and limits | LiveKit Docs | Towards a future-aligned pricing model
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acoustic-photographer-12677
07/22/2025, 1:38 AMif we self host it, do we need to pay anything for livekit
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tall-airline-16756
07/22/2025, 1:39 AMHey there! Good news – if you decide to self-host LiveKit, you won't have to worry about any extra licensing fees. It's completely open source under the Apache License v2.0, which means you can totally deploy it on your own infrastructure without spending a dime.
To get started, you'll just need a couple of things:
• A domain that's all yours (so you can set up those DNS records for your LiveKit server)
• Some server resources (don't stress – for basic use, you won't need anything fancy; just modest hardware will do the trick. If you want cool features like recording, you might want a bit more CPU and memory power)
And hey, for developers, getting LiveKit up and running is super easy. You can start it in development mode with a simple command, and they've even got Docker Compose options and automatic SSL provisioning to make setup a breeze.
The best part? No hidden costs from LiveKit when you self-host. The only expenses you might have are for your own server or cloud infrastructure – and that's totally up to you!
Sources: README.md | LiveKit Pricing | Deploy to a VM | LiveKit Docs | Self-hosting the Egress Service | LiveKit Docs | Voice AI quickstart | LiveKit Docs
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acoustic-photographer-12677
07/22/2025, 1:42 AMconnection limit and room limit these will not be there right if we self host? because in hackathon they will ask about this because we are using a third party tool
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tall-airline-16756
07/22/2025, 1:43 AMHey there! Let me break down how self-hosting LiveKit gives you super flexible options for your video and audio connections. Think of it like having your own personal communication playground where you're not boxed in by someone else's rules.
• Each room can comfortably handle around 3,000 users, depending on how beefy your server hardware is. Pretty cool, right?
• You can actually run multiple rooms at the same time by spreading them across different server nodes - it's like creating your own communication network!
• The best part? You get to customize your limits. Want to set a maximum number of participants, track limits, or bandwidth? You've got total control. By default, you can even set rooms to have unlimited participants.
Unlike cloud services that restrict you with rigid plans, self-hosting LiveKit means your only real limit is your own server's capability. It's like having a communication system that's 100% tailored to your needs.
For hackathon folks, here's the quick takeaway: self-hosting LiveKit means you're the boss of your connections. No third-party restrictions - just pure, flexible communication powered by your own resources!