Element
Fully-featured Matrix client for Web, iOS & Android.
Description from awesome-selfhosted (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Still maintained? Yes: 676 commits in the last 90 days, latest release v1.12.33 (Oct 2026).
Also an alternative to Slack, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and Discord.
Read the comparison: Tuwunel vs Continuwuity vs Conduit vs Synapse (2026)
At a glance
Element quick facts
- Health score
- 87/100 GOOD
- Stars
- 13,628
- Last commit
- today (Oct 2026)
- Latest release
- v1.12.33, Oct 2026
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
Top alternatives to Element
Full rankings: Slack alternatives, WhatsApp alternatives, Microsoft Teams alternatives
In its own words
The project's README opens: "Element (formerly known as Vector and Riot) is a Matrix web & desktop client built using the Matrix JS SDK."
Why it ranks here
Health score explained
Element scores 87/100, #18 of 44 in Communication - Custom Communication Systems: 676 commits in the last 90 days earn 35.0 of 35 points, the latest release (v1.12.33, 3 days ago) earns 25.0 of 25, 13,628 stars add 16.5 of 20, an active, unarchived repository keeps 10 and no advertised Docker image leaves the final 10 unclaimed. That places it in the good band (70 and above). The biggest shortfall is Docker support, worth 10.0 more points.
Recomputed nightly from the GitHub API. How the score is calculated.
- Commit activity 35.0 / 35
676 commits in 90 days (30+ scores full marks)
- Release recency 25.0 / 25
v1.12.33 released 3 days ago
- Stars 16.5 / 20
14k stars on GitHub (logarithmic)
- Not archived 10.0 / 10
Repository is active
- Docker support biggest shortfall 0.0 / 10
No Docker support advertised
Commit activity
- 676
- Last 90 days
- 2,893
- Last 12 months
- today
- Last push
Ranked #18 of 44 tools in Communication - Custom Communication Systems by health , between Zulip (#17) and SimpleX Chat (#19) .
Details
| Licence | Apache-2.0 |
| Platforms | Nodejs |
| Latest release | v1.12.33 · 3 days ago |
| Stars | 13,628 |
| Open issues | 3,588 |
| Docker | Not advertised |
| Repository | element-hq/element-web ↗ |
Element vs its top 5 alternatives
Active tools that share a comparison page or a category with Element (Communication - Custom Communication Systems), scored on the same five terms.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket.Chat | 99 | 46k | MIT | today |
| Mattermost | 98 | 39k | ⊘ Proprietary | today |
| Zulip | 88 | 26k | Apache-2.0 | today |
| Element (this tool) | 87 | 14k | Apache-2.0 | today |
| Tinode | 87 | 14k | GPL-3.0 | 5 days ago |
| Conduit | 56 | 964 | Apache-2.0 | 12 days ago |
Element: common questions
What does Element replace?
Repoly lists Element as an open-source alternative to Slack, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and Discord. Each comparison page ranks every alternative by the same health score, so you can see where Element stands against the others.
Is Element still maintained?
Element had 676 commits in the last 90 days and its last push was today; the latest tagged release, v1.12.33, is from 3 days ago. Repoly recomputes this nightly.