Element vs Teamwire (2026): which should you pick?

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 Teamwire if

• Fits if you are a hospital, public body or utility that needs German hosting
• Makes sense if you need alerting and a central directory for 25 or more people

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you are a small team, as every plan has a 25-user minimum
• Tight if you need calls, because voice and video conferences are a paid add-on
• Skip it if you need above 500 users on Standard, since that is the cap
• Watch out: chat widget, WhatsApp and federation are quoted on request, and prices are in euros

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.

Teamwire

• Every plan has a 25-user minimum per organization; Standard tops out at 500 users.
• Voice and video conferences are an optional add-on at 0.75 euros per user per month on Small Business and Standard.
• Chat widget, WhatsApp Business integration and federation are quoted on request.
• Prices are shown in euros.

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.

Teamwire

Messaging and calls

1:1, group and broadcast chats, attachments, polls, 1:1 voice and video calls and a central user directory.

Alerting and location

Alert messages with an emergency button and acknowledgements, live location sharing and a push-to-talk interface.

Role concept

Operational roles shown beside names let groups follow responsibilities without manual updates.

Administration and compliance

Central user administration, data-retention policies, audit-proof archiving, audit logs and MDM support.

Hosting choices

German cloud in an ISO 27001 and BSI C5 certified data centre; private cloud or on-premise on the Professional plan.

SDKs and APIs

SDKs and APIs connect Teamwire to CRM, ERP, help desk and other systems and to chatbots.

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.

Teamwire

• Small Business€79

  per month for up to 25 users, billed annually

  Up to 25 users, 3 devices per user, German cloud hosting; the 25-user minimum applies.

• Standard€3.45

  per user / month, billed annually

  25 to 500 users, 3 devices per user, German cloud, LDAP/AD sync and audit logs.

• ProfessionalCustom

  25 to unlimited users, 5 devices per user, private cloud or on-premise hosting; price on request.