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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Web App

Element

Open-source, Matrix-based messaging you can self-host for free.

Visit Element4.3

  • Rating

    4.3 / 5

  • Pricing

    Freemium

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    Web, Windows, macOS

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What is Element?

Element is a messaging and collaboration app built on Matrix, an open standard for decentralised communication, so it can talk to other Matrix-based systems. Its Community edition is free and open source under the AGPL for non-professional deployments and evaluations, and paid Enterprise and Sovereign editions add support and features for organisations. Apps are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and the web.

Pros: what Element does well

  • Built on the open Matrix standard, not a closed platform
  • Free, open-source Community edition you can host yourself
  • Apps for every desktop and mobile platform

Cons: where it falls short

  • Self-hosting needs technical setup
  • Free Community edition is meant for non-professional use

Who Element is for

Privacy-minded teams and communities that want control over their chat.

Who can skip it

Teams that want a fully managed chat app with zero setup.

Compare Element

See how Element stacks up, side by side, plus the lists it made.

Element alternatives

Not sold on Element? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Communication resources

Zulip

Focus: team chat and threads. Shares open source and self-hosted with Element. Rated 4.5 (Element: 4.3).

Web AppFree planWeb, macOS
4.5Visit

Mattermost

Focus: team chat and devops. Shares self-hosted and open source with Element. Rated 4.4 (Element: 4.3).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.4Visit

Mumble

Focus: voice chat, audio and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Element. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Element: Freemium). Rated 4.4 (Element: 4.3).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Rocket.Chat

Focus: team chat and omnichannel. Shares self-hosted and open source with Element. Rated 4.2 (Element: 4.3).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.2Visit

Discord

Focus: chat, voice chat and community. Shares slack alternative with Element. Rated 4.5 (Element: 4.3).

Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.5Visit

Screenity

Focus: screen recorder, loom alternative and annotation. Shares open source with Element. A browser extension, not a web app. Free (Element: Freemium). Adds Chrome. Rated 4.7 (Element: 4.3).

Browser ExtensionFreeChrome
4.7Visit

Free alternatives to Element

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

Jitsi Meet

Focus: video calls and zoom alternative. Shares open source and self-hosted with Element. Free (Element: Freemium). Same 4.3 rating.

Web AppFreeWeb, Android
4.3Visit

RustDesk

Focus: remote desktop, remote support and github. Shares self-hosted and open source with Element. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Element: Freemium). Rated 4.6 (Element: 4.3).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

OpenWA

Focus: whatsapp, api and gateway. Shares self-hosted and messaging with Element. Free (Element: Freemium). Rated 4.5 (Element: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.5Visit

Jami

Focus: video calls and encrypted chat. Shares messaging and open source with Element. A mobile app, not a web app. Free (Element: Freemium). Same 4.3 rating.

Mobile AppFreeCross-Platform, Windows
4.3Visit

Lemmy

Focus: forum, communities and fediverse. Shares open source with Element. Free (Element: Freemium). Rated 4.2 (Element: 4.3).

Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.2Visit
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