Element vs Rocket.Chat

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

Element

AGPL-3.0

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

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Rocket.Chat

MIT

The communications platform that puts data protection first.

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Side-by-side comparison

	Element	Rocket.Chat
License	AGPL-3.0	MIT
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	13,398	46,019
Forks	2,735	13,815
Open Issues	3,833	3,981
Last Commit	Aug 21, 2026	Aug 22, 2026
First Released	Jul 22, 2015	May 19, 2015
Categories	Team Chat & Messaging Tools	Team Chat & Messaging Tools
Tags	#chat #messaging #privacy #self hosted #voice chat	#chat #collaboration

GitHub stars over time

Element

Rocket.Chat46,019

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