Rocket.Chat and Element are both open-source, self-hostable options for team communication, and both put you in control of your data. They are built for different priorities. Rocket.Chat is a complete team chat platform in the Slack tradition, with customer-facing chat built in. Element is a secure messenger for teams, built on the open Matrix protocol, where end-to-end encryption and federation come first. This comparison helps you pick.
At a glance
- Primary model. Rocket.Chat is one self-contained app. Element is a client, so a real setup also means running a Matrix homeserver such as Synapse.
- Encryption. Element encrypts direct messages and private rooms by default. Rocket.Chat encrypts in transit (TLS) by default, with optional end-to-end encryption in private rooms that limits search.
- Team features. Rocket.Chat ships threaded discussions, guest access, and a live chat widget out of the box. Element covers the messaging basics, and advanced team features lean on Matrix ecosystem tools.
- Integrations. Rocket.Chat has a curated marketplace plus webhooks and a REST API. Matrix has many community bridges (Slack, IRC, Telegram) with varying maintenance quality.
- Admin effort. Rocket.Chat means one Node.js app plus MongoDB. Element plus Synapse means a homeserver plus a database, with more moving parts at production scale.
Where Rocket.Chat wins
Rocket.Chat wins on workplace structure. Channels, discussions, and threads map directly onto how companies organize work. Guest access and the omnichannel inbox let you talk to customers from the same tool your team uses internally, and the marketplace covers common integrations like Jira and GitHub without extra services. If you want a Slack replacement you can host yourself, it is the more direct fit. Setup is also simpler: one application, one database, and well-trodden Docker paths.
Where Element wins
Element wins on privacy architecture. End-to-end encryption by default means the server operator, including you, cannot read message content. Decentralized federation means two organizations can share rooms while each keeps its own server and its own data. The Matrix ecosystem also offers bridges into IRC, Slack, and Telegram, which suits engineering and open-source communities, and cross-signed device verification keeps that security manageable when people carry more than one device. If encrypted messaging is the requirement, Element is the stronger choice.
Pricing and self-hosting
Both are open source. Rocket.Chat’s community edition (MIT license) is free to self-host, and paid enterprise plans add compliance and support features. The Matrix server Element connects to, Synapse, is also open source (Apache 2.0), and Element’s own apps are free with paid server-side tiers. Either way, self-hosting means you handle updates, backups, and monitoring. If you would rather skip that, OpenSysLab offers Rocket.Chat preinstalled on a private server, see the Rocket.Chat product page for plans and regions.
Which should you choose?
Choose Rocket.Chat if you need structured team chat, customer-facing live chat, and a mature app marketplace. Choose Element if default end-to-end encryption and cross-organization federation are the point of the project. Whichever you pick, both are open source, so you can test them on your own server before asking your team to switch. Teams that need both usually run Rocket.Chat for operations and customer contact, and keep Element or another Matrix client for the conversations that must stay encrypted.
