Discourse vs Element

Comparing two open source alternatives to Discord and Slack . Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

Discourse

GPL-2.0

A platform for community discussion. Free, open, simple.

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Element

AGPL-3.0

Open-source Matrix client for secure, decentralized messaging, voice, and video — runs on your own server.

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Side-by-side comparison

	Discourse	Element
License	GPL-2.0	AGPL-3.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	47,427	13,266
Forks	8,950	2,678
Open Issues	196	3,754
Last Commit	Jul 8, 2026	Jul 8, 2026
First Released	Jan 12, 2013	Jul 22, 2015
Categories	Team Chat & Messaging Tools	Team Chat & Messaging Tools
Tags	#forum #chat	#chat #messaging #privacy #self hosted #voice chat

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