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Element vs Chatty: catalog facts
Element	Chatty
Freemium The client is free and open source under the AGPL 3.0. Element Matrix Services sells…	Free Free and open source under the GPLv3.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web, Self-hosted	Linux
End-to-end encryption with cross-signed device verification Federated, so you can run your own server and still reach everyone	SMS and MMS through the phone modem Matrix and XMPP in the same app
Encryption key management confuses people the first time they log in on a new device Heavy on memory for a chat app, and slow with many large rooms	Linux only XMPP support is optional and depends on libpurple
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: AGPL-3.0	License: GPL-3.0
Account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.