Element vs Zulip
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and integrations.
Quick Verdict
Element offers fewer features (55 vs 122) and more integrations (10 vs 0). Both start at Free. Element has 54 unique features while Zulip has 121 unique features, with 1 features in common.
| Element | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Team Collaboration | Team Collaboration |
| Total Features | 55 | 122 |
| AI-Powered Features | 0 | 1 |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| Pricing Tiers | 3 | 6 |
| Integrations | 10 | 0 |
| Shared Features | 1 | |
| Shared Integrations | 0 | |
| Data Quality | 95% | 80% |
Feature Comparison by Category
AI (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| AI/LLM Integration |
Access Control (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Public Access Option |
Accessibility (2 vs 0)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | ||
| Global Accessibility Compliance Reporting |
Administration (5 vs 6)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Admin Controls for Bots and Integrations | ||
| Admin Interface | ||
| Advanced Identity and Access Management | ||
| Advanced Moderation Tools | ||
| Configure Initial Channels for New Users | ||
| Configure Initial Settings for New Users | ||
| Extended Room Management | ||
| Mobile Device Management | ||
| Moderation | ||
| Monitoring and Alerting | ||
| Usage Statistics Charts |
Analytics (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereign Analytics and Reporting |
Authentication (2 vs 6)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| 100+ Authentication Options | ||
| Email Authentication | ||
| LDAP/AD Authentication | ||
| OAuth Social Logins | ||
| SSO with Microsoft Entra ID | ||
| SSO with OpenID Connect | ||
| SSO with SAML | ||
| Single Sign-On (OIDC) |
Client (0 vs 4)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop Apps | ||
| Mobile Apps | ||
| Terminal App | ||
| Web App |
Collaboration (3 vs 4)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration Tools | ||
| Collaborative Messages | ||
| File Sharing and Storage | ||
| Grid View | ||
| Polls | ||
| Spaces | ||
| To-do Lists |
Communication (3 vs 4)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Configurable Call Provider | ||
| Private Rooms | ||
| Secure Messaging | ||
| Topic-based Threading | ||
| Voice and Video Calls | ||
| Voice and Video Calls (1:1) | ||
| Voice and Video Calls (Group) |
Compliance (7 vs 8)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Auditing and Reporting | ||
| Complete Data Exports | ||
| Compliance Customization and Support | ||
| Compliance Exports | ||
| Cyber Essentials Plus Certification | ||
| Cyber Resilience Act Compliance | ||
| Detailed Audit Log of Administrative Actions | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| Granular Data Retention Policies | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Compliance | ||
| ISO/IEC 5230 Compliance | ||
| Message Editing and Deletion Policies | ||
| Retention Policies | ||
| Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) |
Customization (3 vs 5)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Branding | ||
| Custom Color Theme | ||
| Custom Domain | ||
| Custom Emoji | ||
| Keep Custom Code Across Upgrades | ||
| Maintain a Local Fork | ||
| Whitelabeled Mobile App |
Data Management (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Data Export |
Deployment (4 vs 6)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Air-Gapped Deployment | ||
| Custom Mobile Push Gateway | ||
| Deploy Supporting Services on Separate Hosts | ||
| Docker Deployments | ||
| Kubernetes Deployments with Helm | ||
| Kubernetes Support | ||
| Multi-Platform Support | ||
| Multiple Organizations on One Server | ||
| Outgoing Proxy | ||
| Scalability for Thousands of Concurrent Users |
Disaster Recovery (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Data Backups and Restores | ||
| Disaster Recovery Failover | ||
| Real-time Data Backup and Replication |
Infrastructure (5 vs 0)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Scaling | ||
| Decentralized Architecture | ||
| High Availability and Rolling Updates | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Synapse Pro Homeserver |
Integration (1 vs 9)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| 130+ Native Integrations | ||
| Chat Bridges | ||
| Custom Webhooks | ||
| Email Bridge Integration | ||
| Linkifiers | ||
| Native GIPHY Integration | ||
| REST API | ||
| Sentry Integration for Error Reporting | ||
| Widgets and Integrations | ||
| Zapier and IFTTT Integration |
Interoperability (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Federation |
Localization (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Localized in More Than 20 Languages |
Management (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Move Messages Between Channels and Topics |
Messaging (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Expressive Formatting | ||
| Link Previews | ||
| Read Receipts |
Migration (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Import Data from Another Zulip Server | ||
| Import Data from Other Chat Products | ||
| Import Data from Slack, Mattermost, or Rocket.Chat |
Notifications (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Email Notifications | ||
| Highly Configurable Notification Settings | ||
| Mobile Push Notifications |
Organization (0 vs 7)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | ||
| Mark Topics as Resolved | ||
| Mark Unread | ||
| Permanent Links to Messages and Topics | ||
| Private Channels with Private History | ||
| Private Channels with Shared History | ||
| Saved Snippets |
Permissions (0 vs 7)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Channel Posting Permissions | ||
| Customize Permissions by Channel | ||
| Direct Messaging Permissions | ||
| Grant Permissions to Individual Users | ||
| Manage Permissions by User Role | ||
| Manage Permissions with User Groups | ||
| Permissions for Editing, Deleting and Moving Messages |
Presence (0 vs 2)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Typing Notifications | ||
| User Status and Availability |
Privacy (1 vs 0)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| No Phone Numbers Required |
Productivity (0 vs 3)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Extensive Keyboard Shortcuts | ||
| Schedule Reminders | ||
| Send Later |
Project Management (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Lightweight Project Management |
Search (0 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Message History Search |
Security (9 vs 14)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| 100% Open-Source, Auditable Codebase | ||
| API Endpoint Access Rate Limits | ||
| Advance Notice for Security Releases | ||
| Advance Security Advisory | ||
| Air-Gapped Hosting | ||
| Border Gateways | ||
| Certificate Pinning | ||
| Content Scanning | ||
| Cross Domain Solutions | ||
| Curated Full Stack Security Updates | ||
| Custom Password Strength Requirement | ||
| Custom SSL Certificate Authority | ||
| Custom TLS Server Termination | ||
| Data Encryption at Rest | ||
| Data Sovereignty |
Storage (2 vs 1)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Off-Server Attachment Storage | ||
| S3 Media Repository Support | ||
| Unlimited Data History |
Support (5 vs 8)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Chat Support in Development Community | ||
| Comprehensive Documentation | ||
| Custom Feature Development | ||
| Email Support | ||
| Feature Feedback Sessions | ||
| Implementation Consulting | ||
| Installation Support | ||
| Level 3 Support | ||
| Long Term Support (LTS) | ||
| Real-time Support for Installation and Upgrades | ||
| Service Level Agreement (SLA) | ||
| Training Sessions | ||
| Training and Deployment |
User Management (0 vs 10)
| Feature | Element | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| AD/LDAP Group Sync | ||
| AD/LDAP User Sync | ||
| Create Users via API | ||
| Custom Profile Fields | ||
| Custom User Groups | ||
| Guest Users | ||
| Reusable Invitation Links | ||
| SAML Group Sync | ||
| SCIM Group Sync | ||
| SCIM User Sync |
Unique Features
Only in Element (54)
Accessibility
Global Accessibility Compliance Reporting
Admin Interface
Advanced Identity and Access Management
Extended Room Management
Mobile Device Management
Moderation
Sovereign Analytics and Reporting
LDAP/AD Authentication
Single Sign-On (OIDC)
Collaboration Tools
Grid View
Spaces
Private Rooms
Secure Messaging
Voice and Video Calls
Auditing and Reporting
Cyber Essentials Plus Certification
Cyber Resilience Act Compliance
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Compliance
+ 34 more unique features
Only in Zulip (121)
Public Access Option
Admin Controls for Bots and Integrations
Advanced Moderation Tools
Configure Initial Channels for New Users
Configure Initial Settings for New Users
Monitoring and Alerting
Usage Statistics Charts
AI/LLM Integration
100+ Authentication Options
Email Authentication
OAuth Social Logins
SSO with Microsoft Entra ID
SSO with OpenID Connect
SSO with SAML
Desktop Apps
Mobile Apps
Terminal App
Web App
Collaborative Messages
File Sharing and Storage
+ 101 more unique features
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