Element
element.ioBuild Difficulty: 5/5
Build a working replacement in a weekend with AI tools
Communicate on your terms - Sovereign, interoperable and secure communications, built on the Matrix open standard
How to Replace ElementOverview
Features
55 features across 17 categories
Accessibility(2)
Deeply committed to accessibility with WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance, EN 301 549 criteria, high-contrast modes and full keyboard navigability
Accessibility conformance reports available for clients up to WCAG AA 2.2 & BITV 2.0
Administration(5)
Configure and control your deployment from a single pane of glass
Integrate with enterprise identity management systems including LDAP, Active Directory, and OIDC Single Sign-On
Extended organization-wide chat room management with group and role-based access control
Automate the connection of your employees' Element Pro app to your homeserver
Corporate oversight and management of your organization's conversations
Analytics(1)
Receive sensitive analytics and rageshakes internally rather than routing to third-party providers
Authentication(2)
Authenticate users against external LDAP or Active Directory systems
Support OIDC authentication for Single Sign-On integration
Collaboration(3)
Improve team productivity with add-ons including bridges, bots, widgets, embedded links, share-to capabilities, and file sharing
Monitor, send and receive messages across multiple rooms simultaneously
Group chat rooms for individuals or teams with assigned access permissions
Communication(3)
The ability to create invite-only rooms for private conversations
Unlimited end-to-end encrypted messages with threads, read receipts, location sharing, attachments, voice messages, polls, emojis, and reactions
Unlimited 1:1 and group voice and video calls with end-to-end encryption via Element Call
Compliance(7)
Visible in-room auditing to capture official records of discussion and decision-making for regulation and compliance
Holds UK government backed Cyber Essentials Plus certification scheme for cybersecurity
Compliance with Cyber Resilience Act requirements
Independently audited and certified as compliant with ISO/IEC 27001:2022 information security management standard
Products developed in accordance with ISO/IEC 5230 (OpenChain) for open source license compliance
Configure rules-based retention policies for messages and media to meet organizational processes and compliance requirements
Detailed SBOMs for supply chain transparency and compliance
Customization(3)
Apply your own brand color to the app
Choose your own user addresses based on your brand (for example @user:organization.com)
Fully customized app for mobile and desktop with your branding
Data Management(1)
Easily migrate your data, protecting against vendor lock-in
Deployment(4)
Install and support for air-gapped, isolated and high-side instances with no internet connectivity needed
Push notifications via your own infrastructure
Official helm charts from Element for easy Kubernetes-based installation with GitOps and Continuous Deployment support
Available on Windows, Mac, Linux, via browser, and mobile devices (App Store, Google Play, F-Droid)
Infrastructure(5)
Dynamically scale to save resources and ensure great end user experience
Robust and resilient communications with no single point of failure or global outages
Automatic failover and rolling updates for additional stability and to minimize downtime
Built on open source software to ensure users can trust the system
Next generation homeserver for professional use that provides dynamic scaling and 90%+ resource savings compared to Community Synapse
Integration(1)
Integrate widgets and tools such as whiteboard (NeoBoard) and project management (OpenProject, Jira)
Interoperability(1)
Enable multiple networks and organizations to work together securely with vendor-agnostic federation, allowing different Matrix solutions to interoperate
Privacy(1)
Protects end user privacy with no requirement for personal phone numbers
Security(9)
Advance notification of higher severity security releases to ensure the deployment is always maximally secure
Connect deployments and control access between private and public Matrix networks with rules-based application firewall
Utilize TLS certificate pinning to specify and ensure connection with the intended server
Enhanced content scanning to support antivirus and data loss protection
Securely link Matrix deployments across air-gapped, physically separated networks with hardware-based solutions
Easy deployment of security updates across the full stack
Retain ownership and control of your data with self-hosted deployments, free from vendor lock-in
Guard against imposters by verifying and revoking access of lost or stolen devices using QR codes or emoji strings
Default end-to-end encryption ensuring only conversation participants can decrypt messages, including voice and video
Storage(2)
Support for media repository stored on S3
Unlimited data history for all conversations
Support(5)
Setup, configurations and onboarding from the Element team
Support for all functionality issues and bug fixes with response times based on priority
LTS versions released every 6 months for guaranteed stability with backports of critical security fixes
Guaranteed response times with 4 business hour response commitment and enhanced SLAs available
Enable your teams with expert-led onboarding including one-time training for administrators and trainers
Pricing
Community
- ✓Self-hosted Element Server Suite Community
- ✓Open source under AGPL
- ✓Official FOSS distribution from Element
- ✓Free frontend and backend
- ✓Includes Element Call
- ✓Non-professional deployments and evaluations
- ✓1-100 users
- ✓Synapse Community edition homeserver
- ✓End-to-end encryption
- ✓Voice and video calls
- ✓Messaging and collaboration
- ✓Open source
- ✓Unlimited data history
- ✓Multi-platform support
Enterprise
Popular- ✓Professional use with enterprise-grade performance
- ✓Self-hosted Element Server Suite Pro
- ✓Synapse Pro homeserver
- ✓From 100+ users
- ✓Advance Security Advisory
- ✓Curated full stack security updates
- ✓Corporate compliance and control
- ✓Cyber Resilience Act compliance
- ✓SBOMs
- ✓Global accessibility compliance
- ✓ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified
- ✓ISO/IEC 5230 compliant
- ✓Cyber Essentials Plus certified
- ✓Installation support
- ✓Long Term Support (LTS)
- ✓Level 3 support
- ✓Service Level Agreement (SLA)
- ✓4 business hour response time
- ✓Training and deployment
- ✓Admin interface
- ✓Advanced Identity and Access Management
- ✓LDAP/AD authentication
- ✓Single Sign-On (OIDC)
- ✓Auditing and reporting
- ✓Moderation
- ✓Retention policies
- ✓Data export
- ✓Internal & External collaboration
- ✓Secure border gateway
- ✓Federation
- ✓Custom mobile push gateway
- ✓OpenShift and Helm charts support
- ✓Auto-scaling
- ✓High availability and rolling updates
- ✓S3 support
- ✓Resource savings
- ✓Element Pro workplace app
- ✓Whitelabelled mobile app
- ✓Custom color theme
- ✓Certificate pinning
- ✓Mobile device management
- ✓Sovereign analytics and reporting
- ✓Extended room management
- ✓Content scanning
- ✓Grid view
- ✓Custom domain
- ✓Widgets and integrations
- ✓End-to-end encryption
- ✓Voice and video calls
- ✓Private rooms
- ✓Accessibility support
- ✓WCAG AA 2.2 & BITV 2.0 compliance
Sovereign
- ✓Complete sovereignty with no dependence on the internet
- ✓Air-gapped Element Server Suite Pro
- ✓Synapse Pro homeserver
- ✓Operate without internet connectivity
- ✓Dedicated mobile push gateway
- ✓Air-gapped installation
- ✓Per deployment pricing
- ✓All Enterprise features
- ✓Advance Security Advisory
- ✓Curated full stack security updates
- ✓Corporate compliance and control
- ✓Cyber Resilience Act compliance
- ✓SBOMs
- ✓Global accessibility compliance
- ✓ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified
- ✓ISO/IEC 5230 compliant
- ✓Cyber Essentials Plus certified
- ✓Installation support
- ✓Long Term Support (LTS)
- ✓Level 3 support
- ✓Service Level Agreement (SLA)
- ✓Training and deployment
- ✓Admin interface
- ✓Advanced Identity and Access Management
- ✓LDAP/AD authentication
- ✓Single Sign-On (OIDC)
- ✓Auditing and reporting
- ✓Moderation
- ✓Retention policies
- ✓Data export
- ✓Cross-domain gateway
- ✓Secure border gateway
- ✓Federation controls
- ✓Custom mobile push gateway
- ✓OpenShift and Helm charts support
- ✓Auto-scaling
- ✓High availability and rolling updates
- ✓S3 support
- ✓Element Pro workplace app
- ✓Whitelabelled mobile app
- ✓Custom color theme
- ✓Certificate pinning
- ✓Mobile device management
- ✓Sovereign analytics and reporting
- ✓Extended room management
- ✓Content scanning
- ✓Grid view
- ✓Custom domain
- ✓Widgets and integrations
- ✓End-to-end encryption
- ✓Voice and video calls
- ✓Private rooms
- ✓Accessibility support
Cost Calculator
Pricing data not available for Element. Check their website for current pricing.
Build vs Buy
Should you build a Element alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 55 features.
Buy Element
Better ValueBuild Your Own
Buying Element saves ~$55,440 over 3 years vs building.
Estimates based on 55 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.
Integrations
10 known integrations