Element vs Sharkord

Comparing two open source alternatives to Discord and Slack. 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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Sharkord

MIT

Self-hosted chat server with voice, video, text, and screen sharing — Discord-like features on your own infrastructure.

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Side-by-side comparison

	Element	Sharkord
License	AGPL-3.0	MIT
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	13,406	1,463
Forks	2,738	131
Open Issues	3,823	58
Last Commit	Aug 26, 2026	Aug 26, 2026
First Released	Jul 22, 2015	Oct 14, 2025
Categories	Team Chat & Messaging Tools	Team Chat & Messaging Tools
Tags	#chat #messaging #privacy #self hosted #voice chat	#chat #messaging #self-hostable #video #community

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