Discord vs Element (Web)
Thinking of swapping Discord for the open-source Element (Web)? Here’s the honest trade-off.
13k TypeScript AGPL-3.0 2 days ago
What you give up vs Discord
- Requires running and maintaining a separate Matrix homeserver (e.g. Synapse) for a full deployment
- End-to-end encryption key management and device verification can confuse non-technical users
- Performance and load times lag native Slack/Teams clients in large rooms
- Threads and search are less refined than Slack
What you gain
- • Full data ownership — self-host Element (Web) on your own infrastructure.
- • No per-seat SaaS bill (Discord: no data ownership or self-hosting).
- • Open-source code you can audit and extend (AGPL-3.0).