Element vs Zulip
Comparing two open source alternatives to Discord and Slack . Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.
Element
AGPL-3.0Open-source Matrix client for secure, decentralized messaging, voice, and video — runs on your own server.
Zulip
Apache-2.0Open-source team chat with a unique topic-based threading model that makes it easy to follow multiple conversations.
Side-by-side comparison
| Element | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| GitHub Stars | 12,950 | 24,983 |
| Forks | 2,551 | 9,751 |
| Open Issues | 3,653 | 2,122 |
| Last Commit | Apr 8, 2026 | Apr 2, 2026 |
| First Released | Jul 22, 2015 | Sep 25, 2015 |
| Categories | ||
| Tags |
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