Element vs Pidgin (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Element and Pidgin 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 features and platforms, where Element grades higher, or value for money and ease of use, where Pidgin 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 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
Pick Pidgin if
- Fits if you keep accounts on XMPP and IRC and want them in one window
- Works for Windows or Linux users who would rather have a small program than a browser tab
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as none is listed
- Not for you if you are on a Mac, since the vendor points you to Adium
- Too light for team use, with no workspace, channels structure or admin tools of its own
- Watch out: Linux builds come from your distribution's package manager, not from the project
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAElementGood | 2.8GPAPidginGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AFree and open source under the GPL, with no ads. A program anyone can download and run. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | AFree outright, with no paid tier and no cap. Donations are accepted. |
| Features | 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. | CHandles several accounts in one window and adds more through plugins. It is a client for other people's networks, so it does a smaller job than a workspace. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo rating on record. You add and set up each chat account yourself before it does anything. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWindows and Linux only. No Mac build from the project, no mobile app and no web version. |
| Best for | encrypted chat on servers you control | one desktop window for several chat networks |
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: Element and Pidgin. How we grade
Where they differ
- Element is self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Element also covers video calls.
In commonFree planWindowsLinuxOpen sourceTeam chatFile sharing
At a glance
| Element | Pidgin | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | Not published | Free |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Element Creations Ltd | Pidgin |
| Price read from | element.io | pidgin.im |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Pidgin
- It is a desktop client only: no hosted workspace, mobile app or browser version is listed.
- The vendor says it runs on Windows, Linux, BSD and other UNIX-like systems; for macOS it points to Adium instead.
- Linux builds are not provided by the project; it recommends installing from the distribution's package manager.
Key features
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.
Pidgin
- Several networks in one window
- Out of the box it works with Jabber/XMPP, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, GroupWise Messenger, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr.
- Plugins for more protocols
- Plugins add support for further chat networks and extend what the client can do.
- Chat network features
- Supports file transfers, away messages, buddy icons, custom smileys and typing notifications where the network offers them.
- Open source, no ads
- The code is licensed under the GNU General Public License and the program contains no advertising.
Plans
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.
Pidgin
Free$0
Free, open source under the GNU General Public License, with no ads. Donations are accepted.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Element or Pidgin?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Element publishes no starting price, and Pidgin is free.
Which has a free plan, Element or Pidgin?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Element and Pidgin have a free plan.
Which platforms do Element and Pidgin run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Element lists a web app and macOS, iOS and Android apps. Both list 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.