Daily

Daily provides WebRTC infrastructure and APIs for developers building real-time voice, video, and AI experiences. Daily Prebuilt is an embeddable video-call component that can be added to an app or website with a Daily room URL. Developers can also use SDKs for JavaScript, React Native, native iOS, Android, Python, and Flutter, plus custom SDK builds for AI and embedded hardware. Listed capabilities include live streaming, recording, real-time transcription, adaptive video, custom tracks, chat, reactions, and breakout rooms. Prebuilt can be extended with apps such as Miro, YouTube, and Google Docs, or with custom integrations. Daily's APIs integrate with AI platforms such as OpenAI and support transcription, background blur, and Krisp noise cancellation. Daily says calls use 256-bit TLS and AES-256 encryption, with true end-to-end encryption available. The first 10,000 participant minutes each month are free; after that, video and audio use pay-as-you-go billing, with no hard cap that stops calls when the free minutes run out. With a card on file, an account can host up to 100,000 simultaneous calls or sessions.

Daily offers both an embeddable call component and developer APIs, with a broad set of listed SDKs and call capabilities. Keep its usage-based billing and lack of a hard usage cap in mind when planning costs.

It suits developers adding real-time voice or video to apps and websites, including teams working with AI features. The SDK list covers web and mobile development, as well as Python and Flutter.

Daily is infrastructure for developers adding real-time voice, video, and AI to their own products. It suits teams that need SDK-level control, an embeddable call interface, or very high concurrency more than people seeking a finished meeting service. Its breadth is compelling, but usage continues billing after the free allowance.

Overview

Daily Prebuilt supplies an embeddable video-call component through a Daily room URL, while the APIs support a fully customized experience. That two-track approach lets a product team start with a ready interface and move to deeper integration when its requirements grow. It is fundamentally developer infrastructure rather than an end-user conferencing application.

An account with a card on file can host up to 100,000 simultaneous calls or sessions, measured by programmatic rooms on its Daily domain. That is an unusually high concurrency ceiling for large services. It does not function as a spending safeguard, however: Daily Video is pay-as-you-go and calls do not stop when the monthly free minutes are exhausted.

Key features

SDKs and communication tools

JavaScript, React Native, native iOS, Android, Python, and Flutter SDKs cover mainstream web and mobile stacks. Custom SDK builds target AI and embedded-hardware projects. Capabilities include live streaming, recording, real-time transcription, adaptive video, custom tracks, chat, reactions, and breakout rooms, giving developers building blocks for both meetings and richer in-product communication.

Integrations and AI

Daily Prebuilt can connect with Miro, YouTube, Google Docs, and custom integrations. Its APIs integrate with platforms such as OpenAI and support transcription, background blur, and Krisp noise cancellation. These options favor teams that want communication and AI workflows in one product rather than a separate meeting window.

Security and data handling

Calls use 256-bit TLS and AES-256 encryption, with true end-to-end encryption available. Daily says it does not store call audio, video, or screen sharing except through its documented recording APIs, and does not route data through servers in China. It is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and certified under the EU-US and Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework programs. HIPAA video and a BAA require the Healthcare add-on.

Pricing

Daily has a free allowance of 10,000 participant minutes each month. Video and audio calls cost $0.004 per participant minute from 10,001 to 100,000 minutes, with automatic volume discounts; video/audio pricing varies by volume and HD carries no extra charge. Audio-only pricing applies only when a session has no video tracks, so any camera or screen-share track moves it to the video rate.

Cloud video recording costs $0.01 per recorded minute, plus $0.003 per minute for additional storage. Audio-only recording is $0.01 per recorded minute. RTMP Live Streaming is $0.02 per month with compositing, encoding, and output included, while HLS Live Streaming is $0.03 per month and usage-based. These are usage-priced services, so the free allowance is best for prototypes and modest traffic, not a fixed-cost guarantee.

The Healthcare add-on costs $500.00 per month and provides HIPAA-compliant video and a BAA. Free developer support includes email and Discord on a best-effort basis; enterprise packages can add SLAs and shared Slack or Teams channels. There is no free trial, and no hard cap stops usage after free minutes.

Platforms

Daily supports Android, iOS, web, and API use. Its SDK coverage also reaches JavaScript, React Native, Python, and Flutter, with native mobile options and custom builds for specialized hardware. That makes it practical for products spanning browsers, apps, and backend services.

Who it's for

Daily is a strong fit for developers embedding calls into a product, building AI-assisted voice or video, or planning very high simultaneous-session counts. Teams needing HIPAA video can add the Healthcare package. It is less suitable for buyers who want predictable subscription billing, a consumer-ready meeting product, or automatic shutdown at a spending limit.

Pros and cons

• Pros: SDKs span web, mobile, Python, and Flutter; Prebuilt shortens the path to an embeddable call experience; capabilities include recording, streaming, transcription, chat, and breakout rooms; concurrency reaches 100,000 sessions; encryption, certifications, and optional end-to-end encryption support sensitive deployments.
• Cons: pay-as-you-go billing has no hard usage cap; HIPAA and a BAA add $500.00 per month; free support is best-effort rather than an SLA; recording and streaming introduce separate per-minute charges.

Alternatives

Choose Microsoft Teams instead when you want a conventional meeting service with a free tier supporting 100 participants, 60-minute group meetings, and 5 GB of cloud storage across desktop, mobile, and web.

Webex App is a better fit for free meetings capped at 40 minutes and 100 attendees. CamSurf suits people seeking free random video chat with location or language filters rather than developer APIs.

Pick Dialpad Meetings for a conventional free video-meeting product, or TrueConf when a perpetual free server license and self-hosted options matter. VSee is an alternative with a free one-provider plan and a $29.00-per-month Plus plan.

Apache OpenMeetings is free software with self-hosted distribution. Jitsi Meet is another free option for teams evaluating open meeting software.

Browse more choices in Video Conferencing Software.

Verdict

Choose Daily when your product needs embedded or custom real-time communication, broad SDK coverage, and room for very large concurrency. Look elsewhere if a fixed subscription, end-user meeting workflow, or a firm spend ceiling is more important than developer control.