# Element vs Slack

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Slack

| Attribute | Element | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 49.4 (72% (medium)) | 78.7 (51% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A Matrix-based messaging and collaboration solution for organizations to independently host secure, end-to-end encrypted communications infrastructure, with deployment options ranging from cloud to air-gapped environments. It is indexed under Collaboration Software.","source":"https://element.io/de/pricing","question":"What is Element?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Element does not publish its prices. Pricing is quoted on request, across 3 plans (Community, Enterprise and Sovereign), so the figure depends on your seat count and requirements. We record this as a pricing-transparency signal rather than guessing a number. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://element.io/fr/pricing","question":"How much does Element cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Element supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://element.io/de/pricing","question":"What platforms does Element support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Element can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise, air-gapped and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://element.io/de/pricing","question":"Can Element be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 17 integrations for Element, including Jitsi, Etherpad, Grafana, Google Calendar, Spotify, YouTube, EtherCalc and TradingView, plus 9 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://element.io/de/pricing","question":"What does Element integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed ISO 27001 and GDPR for Element. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Element not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://element.io/de/security/security-hall-of-fame","question":"What security certifications does Element have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Element is available worldwide. Its primary markets are the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the United States. The vendor is headquartered in the United Kingdom.","source":"https://element.io/fr/pricing","question":"Where is Element available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A work operating system that combines messaging, workflow automation, and app integrations to enable team communication, process documentation, and knowledge sharing with enterprise security. It is indexed under Collaboration Software.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"What is Slack?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Slack offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at £5.75 per user per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"Is Slack free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Slack supports the web and iOS. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"What platforms does Slack support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Slack, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"Can Slack be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 15 integrations for Slack, including Salesforce, Atlassian, Lucid, Loom, Miro, Smartsheet, Mural and Zapier, plus 7 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://slack.com","question":"What does Slack integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Slack. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Slack not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://slack.com/security","question":"What security certifications does Slack have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"air_gapped":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A secure messaging and video conferencing system that prioritizes data control and independence by enabling organizations to self-host their communications infrastructure on open standards. | Slack is a cloud-based system that enables teams to communicate through channels, integrate with external tools, and automate workflows while maintaining enterprise-grade security and compliance controls. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","sso_scim":true,"free_tier":true,"messaging":true,"api_access":true,"whiteboard":true,"e2e_encryption":true,"screen_sharing":false,"video_meetings":true,"app_marketplace":true,"max_participants":"unlimited","compliance_controls":true,"guest_external_access":true}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","sso_scim":true,"messaging":true,"api_access":true,"video_meetings":true,"app_marketplace":true,"deployment_model":"cloud_saas","compliance_controls":true,"guest_external_access":true,"recording_transcription":"recording_ai_notes","threaded_reply_conversations":true,"automated_workflow_bot_builders":true,"channel_based_topic_organization":true,"robust_message_search_and_history_indexing":true}` |
| integrations.count | 16 | 2,500 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Jitsi"},{"name":"Etherpad"},{"name":"Grafana"},{"name":"Google Calendar"},{"name":"Spotify"},{"name":"YouTube"},{"name":"EtherCalc"},{"name":"TradingView"},{"name":"Github"},{"name":"Gitlab"},{"name":"JIRA"},{"name":"RSS"},{"name":"Webhooks"},{"name":"LDAP","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"SCIM","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"OIDC","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"OAuth","native":true,"category":"auth","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | `[{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Atlassian"},{"name":"Lucid"},{"name":"Loom"},{"name":"Miro"},{"name":"Smartsheet"},{"name":"Mural"},{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"Microsoft 365","native":true},{"name":"Jira","native":true,"category":"project_management"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"category":"engineering"},{"name":"Google Workspace","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Okta","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"ADFS","native":true,"category":"authentication","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Zendesk","native":true}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"GB","primaryMarkets":["GB","DE","FR","US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"mac":true,"web":true,"linux":true,"android":true,"windows":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Community","summary":"Free, self-hosted edition for up to 100 users","features":["Free frontend and backend","Self-hosted community server"],"description":"Self-hosted community edition for small-scale deployment","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"up to 100"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"Professional server with per-seat/month pricing","features":["Professional home server with dynamic scaling","90% resource savings vs Community","Advanced security advisory","Level 3 support with SLA","Long-term support (LTS)","LDAP and SCIM integration","OIDC/SSO authentication","Audit and compliance reporting","Air-gapped deployment support","Kubernetes/Helm charts","White-label mobile app","Custom branding","Extended room management","Content analysis and DLP support"],"description":"Professional home server with advanced performance and compliance features","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free community version. Pro version billed per seat per month.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://element.io/fr/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-18T12:32:28.076Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free forever","features":["90 days of message history","Up to 10 apps from Slack App Directory","1:1 audio and video meetings with screen sharing","1:1 external messages via Slack Connect","SAML-based single sign-on","SCIM user management","EMM integration support","Native data loss prevention","AI conversation summaries","Slackbot personal AI agent","AI workflow generation","AI search","AI daily recaps","AI file summaries"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"description":"A simpler way to chat and collaborate","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"apps":"up to 10","message_history":"90 days"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"£7/user/month (£5.75/user/month billed annually)","features":["Unlimited message history","Unlimited app integrations","2,600+ apps in Slack App Directory"],"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":7,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":5.75,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"description":"Drive productivity in one place","contactSales":false}],"summary":"From £0 (free tier) to £7/user/month (Pro). Free tier available.","currency":"GBP","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://slack.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:23:07.180Z","startingPrice":{"amount":5.75,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"ISO/IEC 27001:2022","status":"active"},{"name":"Cyber Essentials Plus","status":"active"},{"name":"WCAG 2.1 Level AA","level":"AA","status":"active"},{"name":"EN 301 549","status":"active"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://element.io/de/security/security-hall-of-fame | https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/security-at-slack-how-slack-protects-your-data |

## Capabilities (Collaboration Software)

| Capability | Element | Slack |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Modality** |  |  |
| Messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video meetings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Whiteboard | ✓ | - |
| **Meetings** |  |  |
| Screen sharing | ✗ | - |
| Recording / transcription | - | Recording + AI notes |
| **Security** |  |  |
| End-to-end encryption | ✓ | - |
| SSO / SCIM | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Access** |  |  |
| Guest / external access | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| Compliance controls | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud only |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Max participants | unlimited | - |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| App marketplace | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public API / bot framework | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Free tier | ✓ | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T05:27:50.502Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*