Element vs TeamSpeak (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Element grades higher than TeamSpeak: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Element grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. TeamSpeak grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money.
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 TeamSpeak if
- Fits if you run a gaming group and want your own voice server
- Works for admins who want hosting choices, self-run or rented
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before you commit, as none is published
- Watch out: TeamSpeak 6 clients and the TS6 server are marked beta
- Watch out: server licences for TeamSpeak 6 are listed as coming soon
- Watch out: the site says every server has end-to-end encryption, and we did not verify that
- Not for you if you want a web version, as none is listed
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAElementGood | 2.0GPATeamSpeakFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CNo prices are published: TeamSpeak 6 server licences are listed as coming soon and business terms are by contact, so there is nothing to compare to the $7 middle of team-chat tools. |
| 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. | DThe site mentions a free trial for hosted Communities, but its length, limits and card terms were not readable. There is no free plan on record. |
| 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. | CLow-latency voice, permissions and channels, a TeamSpeak 6 client with screen sharing, and a business SDK. TeamSpeak 6 clients and the server are beta. |
| 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 store rating on record. You run or rent a server and set it up before you can talk. |
| 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. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android clients, plus a business SDK. No web version is listed. |
| Best for | encrypted chat on servers you control | voice chat for gaming groups on your own server |
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 TeamSpeak. How we grade
Where they differ
- Element is open source, according to its own site.
- Element also covers file sharing.
In commonmacOSWindowsLinuxiOSAndroidSelf-hostableEnd-to-end encryptedTeam chatVideo calls
At a glance
| Element | TeamSpeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| 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 | TeamSpeak Systems, Inc. |
| Price read from | element.io | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
TeamSpeak
- No prices are published: TeamSpeak 6 server licenses are listed as coming soon, and business and SDK terms are by contact.
- TeamSpeak 6 clients and the TS6 server are marked beta on the downloads and licensing pages.
- The site says every server has end-to-end encryption; independent verification was not part of this read.
- Officially hosted Communities need no hardware, and the site mentions a free trial, but plan terms were not readable.
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.
TeamSpeak
- Low-latency voice
- The site pitches ultra-low latency and an Opus codec with automatic quality adjustment, noise reduction and echo cancellation.
- Permissions and channels
- Server owners set up channels and a permission system to decide who can join, speak and administer, on their own or a hosted server.
- TeamSpeak 6 client
- The beta client adds community discovery, group and direct messaging, file sharing, and one-to-one voice and video calls.
- Screen sharing
- The home page lists screen sharing at 4K and 60 frames per second, marked beta.
- Hosting choices
- Run a TeamSpeak 6 server beta on Linux, Windows or Docker, host through TeamSpeak Communities, or use an authorized provider for TeamSpeak 3.
- Business SDK
- An SDK embeds TeamSpeak voice into software, apps or games, with plugins for Unreal Engine and Unity, sold through the business team.
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.
TeamSpeak
Pricing could not be confirmed. See teamspeak.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Element or TeamSpeak?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Element publishes no starting price, and TeamSpeak has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Element or TeamSpeak?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Element has a free plan. TeamSpeak does not.
Which platforms do Element and TeamSpeak run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Element lists a web app. Both list macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android 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.