Element

App in the BluixApps catalog

What it is

Element is the flagship client for Matrix — the decentralized, end-to-end-encrypted real-time communication protocol. Self-hosted Element + Synapse (the Matrix server) gives you Slack-level chat + voice + video on your own infrastructure, with federated communication between organizations.

For privacy-bound orgs needing the most rigorous self-hosted chat, Element on Matrix is the gold standard.

What it's for

  • Secure team chat — E2E-encrypted by default, no plaintext on server
  • Federated communication — chat across organizations without trust boundary
  • Government / regulated communications — Element is FedRAMP-track, French gov-approved
  • Open protocol — Matrix is decentralized; switch clients/servers without losing data
  • Voice + video — WebRTC calls integrated

Who it's for

  • Government & defense under strict data sovereignty mandates
  • Privacy-first organizations rejecting Slack / Teams for security model
  • Compliance-bound enterprises needing E2EE audit trails
  • Open-source communities federating across organizations
  • Activists / journalists requiring strongest security guarantees

Why teams pick Element over alternatives

  • Apache 2.0 — fully open
  • E2EE by default — encryption built into the protocol
  • Matrix federation — talk across organizations natively
  • Government adoption — French state IT, German Bundeswehr use Matrix
  • Active development — backed by Element (UK)
  • Multi-client — Element is one of many Matrix clients

Integrations

  • Bridges — Slack, Discord, IRC, Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal via Matrix bridges
  • Identity — local + LDAP + OpenID Connect + SAML
  • Bots — Matrix bot framework + Maubot for app integrations
  • Voice / Video — built-in WebRTC + Element Call
  • Federation — speak to any Matrix homeserver
  • Single sign-on — corporate SSO via OIDC
  • Plugin ecosystem — widgets for Jitsi, custom apps

Notable users & community

  • 11k+ GitHub stars on element-web
  • Production-deployed: French government (Tchap), German Bundeswehr (BwMessenger), KDE
  • Backed by Element (formerly New Vector, UK) — sustainable government contracts
  • Standard secure-chat tool in OSS / privacy communities
  • Active development with public roadmap

Tips & operations

  • Synapse is heavy — Matrix homeserver is resource-hungry; size VPS generously
  • Use Conduit if Synapse too heavy — alternative Matrix server, Rust-based, lighter
  • Postgres backend — SQLite only for testing; production needs Postgres
  • Federation reality — opens you to global federation; can be DoS target
  • Backup is essential — message history is critical; daily Postgres dumps
  • Update Synapse frequently — security patches matter; auto-update via Watchtower

What we ship in BluixApps

  • Docker compose: Element web + Synapse (Matrix homeserver) + Postgres
  • Pinned Synapse + Element to current LTS
  • HTTPS via Let's Encrypt
  • Admin user via env config
  • Persistent Postgres + media volumes
  • Federation enabled by default
  • Backup hook covers Postgres + media (messages can be encrypted, but media isn't)
Read this app's deep dive on bluix.app ↗

Get this app — pick a BluixApps plan

Same catalog. Scaling tenant isolation, white-label and support tier.

TierTenantsCatalogSupportWhite-labelMonthly
Stacks119 curated stacksStandard$19/moDetailDeploy
Starter10Full catalogStandard+$15–25/mo$49/moDetailDeploy
Pro25Full catalogPriority bugfix+$15–25/mo$149/moDetailDeploy
Growth100Full catalogPriority bugfix+$15–25/mo$349/moDetailDeploy
Scale500Full catalog7-day window+$15–25/mo$799/moDetailDeploy
EnterpriseUnlimitedFull catalogPriority 7-dayBundled$1,499/moDetailDeploy

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