Element vs Threema Work (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Element grades higher than Threema Work: 2.8 against 2.4 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 and platforms. Threema Work grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Threema Work
Encrypted business messenger from Switzerland
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 Threema Work if
- Fits if your company wants chat with servers in Switzerland and no phone number needed
- Makes sense if you want central user management for up to 200 people
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 200 users, as Core stops at 200
- Pricey if you want broadcast, automation or the API, which need Professional at $5
- Watch out: syncing users with Azure AD costs extra
- Watch out: the page converts CHF and EUR figures one-to-one into USD
- Watch out: self-hosting (OnPrem) is sold through sales with no published price
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAElementGood | 2.4GPAThreema WorkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BCore is $3.00 per user a month billed annually, inside the cheapest quarter of team-chat tools, which starts at $3.50. Professional is $5.00. |
| 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. | DA 30-day free trial is offered, but the page doesn't say whether it needs a card. There is no free plan. |
| 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. | BUser management, calls and group chats, broadcast messaging, automation and an API. Nothing in the listing shows a missing core piece, though broadcast and API need Professional. |
| 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. An admin has to set up users, so there is some setup. |
| 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plus an API on Professional and an Azure AD link. No desktop app is listed in the data. |
| Best for | encrypted chat on servers you control | encrypted team messaging hosted in Switzerland |
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 Threema Work. How we grade
Where they differ
- Element is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Element | Threema Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $3.00 per user / month, billed annually |
| 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 | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Element Creations Ltd | Threema |
| Price read from | element.io | threema.com |
| 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.
Threema Work
- Core is limited to 200 users; Broadcast, automation and API access need Professional.
- Syncing users with Azure AD costs extra, according to the feature table on the pricing page.
- Pricing is shown per user; the page marks it annual payment and says USD figures are converted one-to-one from CHF and EUR.
- The pricing page names the app, web client and a desktop app but lists no platform detail beyond iOS, Android and web.
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.
Threema Work
- Central user management
- A management cockpit lets admins preconfigure contact lists, revoke IDs, see active users and manage people with tags.
- Calls and group chats
- Text and voice messages, voice, video and group calls, group chats, polls and emoji reactions are listed on every business plan.
- Broadcast messaging
- Threema Broadcast sends one-to-many messages through distribution lists, feeds and bots; Professional includes it, with the Broadcast API.
- Privacy design
- Usage without a phone number, SIM card or email address is listed, and Threema says it is GDPR-compliant and avoids metadata.
- Automation and API
- Professional adds an API for automated administration and for the Threema Gateway, with unlimited gateway credits.
- Self-hosted option
- Threema OnPrem runs on your own infrastructure with full control of data, and the OnPrem plan adds air-gapped operation and white-labeling.
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.
Threema Work
Core$3.00
per user / month, billed annually
Central user management for up to 200 users, 99.5% availability SLA and 24-hour support response.
Professional$5.00
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited users, Threema Broadcast, automation and API access, 99.9% SLA and 6-hour support response.
OnPremCustom
Self-hosted Threema with full white-labeling, air-gapped operation and premium support. Sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Element or Threema Work?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Element publishes no starting price, and Threema Work starts at $3.00 per user / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Element or Threema Work?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Element has a free plan. Threema Work does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Element and Threema Work run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Element lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and 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.