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Element vs Telegram: catalog facts
Element	Telegram
Freemium The client is free and open source under the AGPL 3.0. Element Matrix Services sells…	Free The apps are free to download and use.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
End-to-end encryption with cross-signed device verification Federated, so you can run your own server and still reach everyone	Chats sync across phones and desktop computers Large groups, channels and bot platform
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	Relies on Telegram's central servers Apps are open source but the server software is not published
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Hosted service
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 October 2, 2026

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