Element vs Zoom
On the evidence we track, Zoom leads this comparison with a composite score of 64/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for collaboration software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Element
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.
Zoom
LeaderA comprehensive unified communications solution offering video conferencing, instant messaging, cloud-based phone service, webinars, and workplace collaboration features, deployable in cloud or on-premises environments.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Element
Free community version. Pro version billed per seat per month.
- CommunityFree
- Free frontend and backend
- Self-hosted community server
- ProProfessional server with per-seat/month pricing
- Professional home server with dynamic scaling
- 90% resource savings vs Community
- Advanced security advisory
- Level 3 support with SLA
- Long-term support (LTS)
- +9 more
Zoom
Leader- School and Campus-
- Meetings up to 300 participants for 30 hours
- Team Chat with direct, channel, and group messaging
- Unlimited whiteboards
- Screen sharing with co-annotation
- Breakout rooms and polling
- +9 more
- School and Campus Plus-
- All School and Campus features plus:
- Zoom Phone with unlimited internal calling
- Metered outbound calling within US & Canada
- 10GB cloud storage per user
- LTI integration
- +5 more
- EnterpriseContact sales
- Meetings up to 500+ participants
- Webinars up to 500 attendees
- Unlimited cloud storage
- Zoom Phone with unlimited calling
- Conference Room Connector
- +3 more
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
Element
- Jitsi
- Etherpad
- Grafana
- Google Calendar
- Spotify
- YouTube
- EtherCalc
- TradingView
- Github
- Gitlab
- JIRA
- RSS
- Webhooks
- LDAP
- SCIM
- OIDC
- OAuth
Zoom
Leader- Skype for Business (Lync)
- Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)
- Third-party applications via App Marketplace
- Microsoft 365
Element or Zoom: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.