Alternatives to Element
Matrix client for federated, self-hostable chat
Element ranks #5 of 8 in Team chat, with an Alt Score of 55. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0, open source with paid hosting and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. 7 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Teams, enterprises, and government/public-sector organizations that need secure messaging and collaboration without depending on a single vendor's servers, plus individuals who want encrypted, self-hostable chat.
End-to-end encrypted messaging, voice, and video calls built on the open Matrix protocol. Rooms and direct messages federate across independently run servers, similar to how email works across providers. You can self-host your own server or use Element's hosted service, with no vendor lock-in since the code is open source.
Sign up on Element's hosted service or connect to your organization's own Matrix server, then join or create rooms to message and call other users. Because Matrix is federated, you can communicate with people on different servers just as you'd email someone at a different domain.
Where Element stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Element
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Element compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Team chat checklist | Element | Mattermost | Microsoft Teams | Zulip | Rocket.Chat | Discord |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Message history limit (free) | ||||||
| Threads | ||||||
| Huddles / audio rooms | ||||||
| Video calls | ||||||
| Guest access | ||||||
| Federation | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| E2E encryption | ||||||
| Integrations count | ||||||
| Workflow automations | ||||||
| Search quality (filters) | ||||||
| Compliance exports |
Every fact and feature listed for Element is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
-
Pricing model OSS + paid hosting verified 2026-07-10
Free self-host client (AGPL) + paid hosted Enterprise (per-seat, quote-based).
Free of charge frontend and backend.
https://element.io/pricing -
License AGPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-10
(1) for free under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License (as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version); OR
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/element-hq/element-web/develop/README.md -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-10
For accessing Element on an Android or iOS device, we currently recommend the native apps element-x-android and element-x-ios.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/element-hq/element-web/develop/README.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
The `develop` branch is continuously deployed to https://develop.element.io for those who like living dangerously.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/element-hq/element-web/develop/README.md -
Message history limit (free) No verified 2026-07-10
No message-history limit.
Unlimited data history
https://element.io/pricing -
Video calls Yes verified 2026-07-10
Unlimited 1:1 and group voice and video calls.
https://element.io/features -
Federation Yes verified 2026-07-10
Matrix federation.
Enable multiple networks to work together securely.
https://element.io/features -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-10
To host your own instance of Element see [Installing Element Web](docs/install.md).
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/element-hq/element-web/develop/README.md -
E2E encryption Yes verified 2026-07-10
Keep communication secure by ensuring that only those in the conversation are able to decrypt messages.
https://element.io/features -
Integrations count Yes verified 2026-07-10
Improve team productivity with our add-ons bridges, bots and widgets.
https://element.io/features -
Compliance exports Yes verified 2026-07-10
Data export - The ability to easily migrate your data, protecting against vendor lock-in
https://element.io/pricing
FAQ
Yes. Microsoft Teams, Discord and Twist have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Zulip and Rocket.Chat — every license claim links its source.