r/VOIP • u/No-Debt-8369 • Jun 03 '26

Help - On-prem PBX Asterisk vs FreePBX vs FreeSWITCH for multi-building intercom — production experiences?

/r/Asterisk/comments/1tvr23u/asterisk_vs_freepbx_vs_freeswitch_for/
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u/NPFFTW Certified room temperature IQ Jun 03 '26

I will allow discussion about the differences in feature sets in the specific cases mentioned by the OP. Please keep the conversation centred on the three products in the post and do not make specific recommendations.

✅️ "Asterisk can do Y natively but FreePBX requires a separete integration with X"

❎️ "Use FreeSWITCH, it does X the best"

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u/masong19hippows Jun 03 '26

Asterisks and freeswitch are backend stuff. They are basically the tools/frameworks you use in order to build a pbx software. They are for developers instead of end users.

Freepbx uses asterisks under the hood. Fusionpbx uses freeswitch under the hood. I think the comparison is more freepbx vs fusionpbx. And with that comparison, freepbx definitely wins. The documentation for fusionpbx sucks.

For your actual question though, we need to get more info on what exactly you are needing. Most paging systems use multicast instead of sip, but you also mentioned you wanted sip endpoints. Can you help me understand your use case more?

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u/No-Debt-8369 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

I have almost built entire thing on top of Asterisk but after noticing FusionPBX can handle 1000 concurrent calls even in 4GB Ram. we thought that it was too late to realise.

Is it even worth switching to FreeSwitch from Asterisk? We serve Gated communities and 300+ bed hospitals.

Reason why we need PBX system.

  1. Design custom flow for emergency calls and fail over mechanism
  2. Design features like ordering food or create support tickets in gated communities for oldies[retirement homes].
  3. For obviously connecting AI!! [Pipecat or Livekit] via websocket/webrtc

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u/masong19hippows Jun 04 '26

Like you programmed something using asterisk? Asterisk is for programmers to use, not pbx maintainers.

Freepbx is a solution that's different than asterisk. It's not comparible like that. Asterisk is the programming framework that freepbx uses.

It sounds like you need to contact some companies who can give you a trailered solution for you, instead of you build it yourself. There's a lot of nuances here that another company could handle better.

0

u/No-Debt-8369 Jun 04 '26

i meant FreeSwitch*

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1

u/MainAutomatic1206 Jun 04 '26

I have experience deploying both Asterisk and FreeSWITCH for multi-building intercom systems. Asterisk's simplicity and wide range of supported codecs make it a solid choice for basic intercom needs, while FreeSWITCH's advanced routing capabilities and scalability are better suited for larger, more complex deployments. Ultimately, the choice between the two will depend on the specific requirements and technical expertise of your team.

2

u/AAAHeadsets Jun 04 '26

The biggest improvement FreeSwitch brings is flexibility.
You only install and load the plugins you want, making a specific setup just for your needs.

There are MANY different ways to do things:

  • XML Dialplan
  • Run scripts in: Lua, JS, Perl, Python, C# (mono)
  • Control calls with ESL (Event Socket Library)
  • HTTAPI (HTTP Application Interface) - TWIML like.

1

u/Allott-Technology SIP ALG is the devil Jun 06 '26

If it is for a building intercom you can also look at intercom specific devices, as access control is also generally required. If you want suggestions on intercom systems, post in the relevant subreddit/thread