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Element vs Ement.el: catalog facts
Element	Ement.el
Freemium The client is free and open source under the AGPL 3.0. Element Matrix Services sells…	Free Free and open source under the GPL-3.0.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux
End-to-end encryption with cross-signed device verification Federated, so you can run your own server and still reach everyone	Matrix chat without leaving Emacs Uses Emacs buffers and keybindings
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	Requires GNU Emacs and some familiarity with it Text-focused, with no standalone interface
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: AGPL-3.0	License: GPL-3.0
Account needed	Account needed
Works offline	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

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