Cinny vs Element (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cinny and Element share a 2.8 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money and ease of use, where Cinny grades higher, or features and platforms, where Element does.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Cinny if
- Fits if you already have a Matrix account and want a lighter client
- Works for people who want Matrix in a browser or on a desktop
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you have no Matrix server, as you need an account on one
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as none is listed
- Watch out: server limits and features come from your Matrix server
- Watch out: some Matrix features may be missing, as the site says more are still to come
Pick Element if
- Fits if you want a free encrypted messenger for yourself or a community
- Works for governments and regulated organizations that must keep chat on their own servers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want someone else to host your company's chat, as no Element-hosted plan is listed
- Not for you if you need to see a price before talking to sales, because none is published
- Tight if you hoped to run a business on the free server, which covers 100 users and isn't meant for commercial use
- Watch out: Enterprise starts at 100 users, and whitelabelled apps and the cross domain gateway are add-ons
- Watch out: devices must be verified by QR code or emoji string before messages decrypt
How we grade them
| 2.8GPACinnyGood | 2.8GPAElementGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source under the AGPL. Donations are optional. | CNo price is published at all. Enterprise is per seat per month and Sovereign per deployment, both through sales, and Enterprise starts at 100 users. So there is nothing to weigh against the $7 a month team chat typically starts at until you've had the call. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with the whole client at no cost. | AThe app is free for personal use on a public server, with no cap you'd run into: rooms, threads, unlimited history and end-to-end encrypted calls. Element Server Suite Community is free too, under AGPL, for 1 to 100 users. |
| Features | CChat, encrypted rooms, themes and separate DMs. The site says more Matrix features are still to come. | BThe whole chat job, and encrypted by default: rooms with threads, read receipts, polls, reactions and voice messages, Element Call for group voice and video, widgets like a whiteboard, Jira and OpenProject. Matrix federation lets separate organizations talk. No Element-hosted option is listed, though. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You need an account on a Matrix server first. | DAn individual can sign in on a public server and start talking. A company can't: the pricing page lists only self-hosted and air-gapped deployments, so somebody is running a Matrix homeserver. Devices also have to be verified by QR code or emoji string before messages decrypt. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb, Windows, Mac and Linux. No phone app listed and one integration. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. Matrix is an open standard with its own API, so bots, other clients and other organizations' servers all plug in, and widgets embed NeoBoard, OpenProject and Jira in a room. |
| Best for | a simple Matrix chat client | encrypted chat on servers you control |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cinny and Element. How we grade
Where they differ
- Element also covers video calls and file sharing.
In commonFree planWebWindowsmacOSLinuxOpen sourceSelf-hostableEnd-to-end encryptedTeam chat
At a glance
| Cinny | Element | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | Not published |
| Free plan | Free and open source; the site asks for voluntary financial contributions. | The Element app is free for personal use on a public server, and Element Server Suite Community is a free AGPL self-hosted edition for 1 to 100 users. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ajay Bura | Element Creations Ltd |
| Price read from | cinny.in | element.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cinny
- Cinny is a client only; you need an account on a Matrix homeserver, and server limits and features come from that server.
- The project's GitHub page lists desktop installers but no iOS or Android app.
- The source is under the AGPL-3.0 license, and a Dockerfile is in the repository for hosting it yourself.
- The site says more features are still to come, so some Matrix features may be missing.
Element
- No prices are published: Enterprise is priced per seat per month and Sovereign per deployment, both through sales, and Enterprise starts from 100 users.
- The free Community server edition covers 1 to 100 users and, the vendor says, is not intended for production in commercial environments.
- For organizations, the pricing page lists only self-hosted and air-gapped deployments; it does not list a plan hosted by Element.
- Whitelabelled apps and the cross domain gateway are sold as add-ons.
Key features
Cinny
- Matrix client
- It connects to Matrix, so you sign in with an account on any Matrix server rather than a Cinny-run service.
- Encrypted chat
- The site says conversations are protected by end-to-end encryption.
- DMs separate from channels
- Direct messages are kept apart from channels to reduce clutter.
- Themes
- The home page shows selectable light and other themes.
- Web and desktop
- The web app is at app.cinny.in, and installers for macOS, Windows and Linux are on the desktop project's GitHub releases.
Element
- End-to-end encryption by default
- The platform is end-to-end encrypted by default, including voice and video, and devices are verified by QR code or an emoji string.
- Rooms and messaging
- Rooms organize team discussions, with threads, read receipts, attachments, voice messages, polls, reactions, invite-only private rooms and unlimited history.
- Element Call
- End-to-end encrypted voice and video for 1:1 and group conversations. Element Call is also included in the free Community server edition.
- Matrix federation
- Built on the Matrix open standard, so separate organizations can communicate across servers and frontends. Administrators can enable or block federation.
- Element Server Suite
- The self-hosted backend. Pro adds the Synapse Pro homeserver, auto-scaling, high availability, an admin interface, LDAP and SCIM integration, and auditing.
- Widgets and integrations
- Interactive apps can be embedded in rooms, including a whiteboard (NeoBoard) and project management tools such as OpenProject and Jira, alongside bots.
Plans
Cinny
Free$0
The full client, with optional donations through Open Collective, GitHub Sponsors or Liberapay.
Element
Community$0
Self-hosted Element Server Suite Community: open source under AGPL, for 1 to 100 users, with Element Call. Not meant for commercial production use.
EnterpriseCustom
Self-hosted Element Server Suite Pro from 100 users, priced per seat per month through sales: Synapse Pro, SSO, LDAP, auditing and SLA-backed support.
SovereignCustom
Air-gapped Element Server Suite Pro, priced per deployment, with a dedicated mobile push gateway and no dependence on internet connectivity.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cinny or Element?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cinny is free, and Element publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Cinny or Element?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Cinny and Element have a free plan.
Which platforms do Cinny and Element run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Element lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.