Element vs Zulip

Element

• Governments and regulated organizations that self-host encrypted chat
• Organizations that need air-gapped deployments
• Groups that want to federate with other Matrix servers
• Individuals and communities who want a free encrypted messenger

Zulip

• Distributed teams that prefer asynchronous, topic-organized conversations
• Open-source projects, research groups and communities seeking sponsored plans
• Organizations that want to self-host open-source chat
• Classes and schools, which get education pricing

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.

Zulip

• Zulip Cloud Free searches only the most recent 10,000 messages and has 5 GB of file storage for the whole organization.
• SAML single sign-on and SCIM on Zulip Cloud need the Plus plan, which has a 10-user minimum; self-hosted Business has a 25-user minimum.
• Voice and video calls depend on an outside provider such as Zoom or Jitsi.
• Self-hosted Free limits mobile push notifications to 10 users unless the organization registers as an eligible community.

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.

Zulip

Topic-based threading

A new conversation starts by giving it a brief topic inside a channel, and replies stay in that context. Messages can be moved between topics, and topics marked as resolved.

Cloud or self-hosted

The same 100% open-source software runs on Zulip Cloud or on your own server, and export and import tools let an organization move between them.

Apps for every platform

Zulip has a web app for any modern browser, desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and a terminal app.

Calls through a provider

1:1 and group voice and video calls open in a configurable call provider such as Zoom, Jitsi or BigBlueButton.

Integrations and API

More than 130 native integrations, thousands more through Zapier and IFTTT, custom webhooks, a REST API, and chat bridges to Slack, Microsoft Teams and Matrix.

Formatting and lightweight workflows

Messages support code syntax highlighting and LaTeX, plus polls and to-do lists, scheduled sends, reminders and extensive keyboard shortcuts.

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.

Zulip

• Free$0

  On Zulip Cloud: 10,000 messages of search history and 5 GB of storage in total. Self-hosted: every feature, with mobile notifications for up to 10 users.

• Self-hosted Basic$3.50

  per user / month, billed monthly

  Self-hosted server with all Zulip features and unlimited mobile notifications.

• Cloud Standard$6.67

  per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)

  Unlimited search history, 5 GB of file storage per user, message retention policies, custom groups and priority commercial support.

• Self-hosted Business$6.67

  per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)

  25 users minimum. Email and chat support for SAML and Entra ID single sign-on, AD/LDAP user sync, compliance exports and retention policies.

• Cloud Plus$10

  per user / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)

  10 users minimum. Adds 25 GB of file storage per user, SAML single sign-on, SCIM user and group sync, and a custom domain.

• Self-hosted EnterpriseCustom

  Email, chat and phone support, OpenID Connect single sign-on, group sync, implementation consulting and custom feature development.

Element

No public discounts listed.

Zulip

• Annual discount

  About 17% less with annual billing

  Cloud Standard and self-hosted Business cost $6.67 per user / month billed annually against $8 billed monthly, and Cloud Plus is $10 against $12.

• Other savings

  $20 a month off self-hosted plans in year one

  The plans page advertises $20 per month off the self-hosted Basic and Business plans for the first year.

• Nonprofit

  Free Standard plan for eligible organizations

  Open-source projects, academic research, non-profit events and non-profits with no paid staff are generally eligible for a free Zulip Cloud Standard plan, by application.

• Education

  Education pricing from $0.67 per user

  Standard for Education costs $0.67 per user / month for non-profit institutions and $1 for for-profit ones with annual billing, or $0.80 and $1.20 billed monthly.