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Secure, decentralized messaging built on the Matrix protocol
Element is a UK-based secure messaging app built on the open Matrix protocol, offering decentralized, end-to-end encrypted communication for individuals, teams, and organizations.
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
Founded
2017
Pricing
EU Data Hosting
Yes
Employees
51-200
Open Source
Yes
Free
$5/mo
Contact Sales
Billing: monthly, annual
When NATO needed a secure messaging platform it could trust, it did not choose Slack, Teams, or WhatsApp. It chose the Matrix protocol — and Element, the most prominent client built on it. The French government runs its own Matrix deployment (Tchap) for inter-ministerial communication. The German Bundeswehr uses BwMessenger, also built on Matrix. These are not small experiments; they are production deployments handling sensitive sovereign communications.
Element, headquartered in London and founded in 2017 (originally as Riot.im, then rebranded), is the company driving the Matrix protocol's commercial adoption. It offers both a free personal messaging client and paid enterprise deployments via Element Server Suite. The software is fully open-source, decentralised by design, and end-to-end encrypted by default.
The Matrix protocol that underpins Element works on the same federated principle as email: anyone can run a server, and servers communicate with each other. This means no single entity controls the network. Your organisation can host its own server, retain complete data sovereignty, and still communicate with users on other Matrix servers worldwide.
Element targets two distinct audiences. For individuals and communities, it is a privacy-respecting alternative to WhatsApp and Telegram. For organisations — particularly governments, defence, healthcare, and other regulated sectors — it is a sovereign communication platform that offers what Slack and Teams fundamentally cannot: genuine end-to-end encryption with full infrastructure control.
Every message in Element is encrypted using the Olm and Megolm protocols (a Matrix implementation of the Signal double-ratchet algorithm). Unlike Telegram, where encryption is opt-in and group chats are unencrypted, Element encrypts everything by default — direct messages, group rooms, file transfers, and voice/video calls. The encryption is independently auditable because the code is open-source.
Cross-device key verification ensures that new devices are authenticated before receiving message history. This is a genuine security measure, though the user experience of verifying keys — involving QR codes or emoji comparison — is one of Element's most cited friction points.
Federation is what makes Matrix genuinely unique among messaging platforms. Your Element server can communicate with any other Matrix server, just as your Gmail can email any Yahoo address. This prevents vendor lock-in and means organisations can communicate across institutional boundaries without everyone being on the same platform.
Bridges extend this interoperability to non-Matrix platforms. Official and community-maintained bridges exist for Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, IRC, and Discord. Messages flow between platforms, allowing teams to gradually migrate without forcing an immediate switch. The bridge quality varies — Slack and IRC bridges are mature and reliable; others can be less polished.
Element supports one-to-one and group voice/video calls with end-to-end encryption. The implementation uses a combination of native WebRTC and, for larger calls, integration with Jitsi or Element Call (the newer native solution). Call quality is generally good for small groups but can struggle with larger conference calls compared to dedicated video platforms. Screen sharing is supported.
Spaces function like Slack workspaces or Discord servers, providing a hierarchical way to organise rooms (channels). A team Space might contain rooms for general discussion, project-specific topics, announcements, and social chat. Spaces can be nested, and rooms can belong to multiple Spaces. This organisational model is flexible and works well for both small teams and large communities.
Element Server Suite includes administration dashboards, user management, compliance tools (message retention policies, audit logs), and integration with enterprise identity providers (SAML, OIDC). For regulated industries, these tools bridge the gap between Element's open-source foundations and the governance requirements of enterprise deployment.
Element's personal tier is free and fully functional: unlimited messages, rooms, encryption, and voice/video calls on the matrix.org public homeserver. This is genuinely free — not a trial, not feature-limited in ways that force upgrades.
For organisations, Element Server Suite Starter begins at approximately 5 USD per user per month for a managed homeserver with admin tools and up to 100 users. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes SLA-backed support, compliance features, and deployment options (cloud or on-premises).
Self-hosting is always free. Organisations with in-house DevOps capability can deploy Synapse (the reference Matrix server) and Element's clients at no licensing cost. The trade-off is the operational burden of running and maintaining the infrastructure.
Compared to Slack (approximately 7-13 USD per user per month) and Microsoft Teams (bundled with Microsoft 365 at 6-23 USD per user per month), Element's pricing is competitive, especially considering the encryption and sovereignty features that neither competitor offers.
Element's compliance posture is exceptional for organisations that take data sovereignty seriously. Self-hosting means data never leaves infrastructure you control — there is no stronger guarantee than running the servers yourself. For managed deployments, Element offers EU-hosted options.
The end-to-end encryption means that even Element (the company) cannot read messages on hosted deployments. This is a meaningful distinction from platforms like Slack and Teams, where the service provider has technical access to all message content.
The open-source codebase has undergone independent security audits. The Matrix protocol specification is published openly by the Matrix.org Foundation, a UK non-profit, ensuring no single company controls the standard.
For organisations subject to NIS2, DORA, or sector-specific regulations requiring sovereign communication infrastructure, Element is one of very few platforms that can genuinely deliver.
Element is the most credible encrypted team messaging platform available. Its government-grade adoption, open-source transparency, and federated architecture put it in a category that Slack, Teams, and WhatsApp simply cannot occupy. For organisations where data sovereignty and encryption are non-negotiable, Element is the clear choice.
The cost of this security is user experience. Element requires more from its users than consumer messaging apps: key verification is fiddly, the interface has rough edges, and performance in large federated rooms can lag. Non-technical users will find the onboarding steeper than Slack. Element is improving rapidly, but it remains a tool that prioritises security architecture over polish. For the right use cases, that trade-off is not just acceptable — it is exactly what is needed.
Signal is arguably easier to use for one-to-one encrypted messaging and has a more polished mobile experience. However, Element offers features Signal lacks: federation (no single server controls the network), bridges to other platforms, self-hosting capability, Spaces for organising communities, and richer team collaboration features like threads and integrations. Signal is better for simple private messaging; Element is better for teams and communities that need structured communication with sovereignty.
Yes, though the process requires planning. Element provides bridges that allow bidirectional messaging between Slack and Matrix, enabling a gradual migration. Message history can be imported using community tools, though formatting may not transfer perfectly. The biggest challenge is typically cultural — getting users accustomed to a different interface and the key verification workflow. Organisations should plan for a transition period running both platforms in parallel.
It depends on your security requirements. If end-to-end encryption and data sovereignty are important, Element is worth the onboarding investment. The Element Server Suite managed option removes the burden of self-hosting. However, if your team simply needs a chat tool and security is not a primary concern, Slack or Teams will provide a smoother experience. Element's UX has improved significantly but still requires more user education than consumer-focused alternatives.
If you use the free matrix.org homeserver, you are dependent on that server's uptime — though other federated servers continue operating independently. This is a key advantage of federation: no single server failure takes down the entire network. For organisations, running your own homeserver (or using Element's managed hosting) eliminates this dependency entirely. Your server operates independently and federates with others when both are online.
Yes, on the Element Server Suite enterprise tier. Administrators can set message retention policies that automatically purge messages after defined periods. Compliance features include audit logging, message export for legal discovery, and integration with enterprise archival systems. For regulated industries that need both encryption and auditability, Element's approach of encrypting in transit and at rest while providing admin-controlled retention policies strikes a practical balance.
ANSSI-certified encrypted messaging app mandated by the French government
Privacy-first messenger that requires no phone number or email
End-to-end encrypted collaboration for enterprises and governments
Alternative to Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp, Slack