Element-web vs Microsoft Teams
Element-web and Microsoft Teams are both team chat software. Element-web is open source under AGPL-3.0, with 14k GitHub stars. Microsoft Teams is a commercial product from Microsoft.
Which to pick
- Pick Element-web when
- You use Matrix and want the most complete client, or want to host your own web client.
- Pick Microsoft Teams when
- Your business already pays for Microsoft 365 and wants chat and video meetings without another vendor.
Side by side
The Element web and desktop client for Matrix, with encrypted messaging, rooms, threads and calls.
Chat, meetings, calls and file collaboration built on Microsoft 365, with SharePoint behind team files and optional phone system.
Heavy for a chat client, and moved to AGPL.
The client is heavy and the chat experience is clumsier than Slack; in the EU it is now sold separately from some Microsoft 365 plans.
Production-ready (both)
Self-hosted server and desktop app
Cloud service, desktop app and mobile app
TypeScript and React
Not published
Open source, AGPL-3.0 (network copyleft)
Closed source, sold by Microsoft
Use inside your business is unrestricted. If you change it and let customers use it over the internet, you must publish your changes.
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
14k GitHub stars
20k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
Established: started 11 years ago, latest release v1.12.33.
Not known
Other comparisons
More team chat apps
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.