Discourse vs Element

Comparing two open source alternatives to Discord and Slack. Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

Discourse

GPL-2.0

Open source community forum platform combining long-form discussion, real-time chat, and strong moderation. Self-host it or use managed hosting.

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Element

AGPL-3.0

Open-source Matrix client for secure, decentralized messaging, voice, and video — runs on your own server.

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Side-by-side comparison

	Discourse	Element
License	GPL-2.0	AGPL-3.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	47,958	13,552
Forks	9,032	2,785
Open Issues	291	3,716
Last Commit	Oct 10, 2026	Oct 10, 2026
First Released	Jan 12, 2013	Jul 22, 2015
Categories	Team Chat & Messaging Tools	Team Chat & Messaging Tools
Tags	#forum #chat	#chat #messaging #privacy #self hosted #voice chat

GitHub stars over time

Discourse47,958

Element

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