What is the main difference between Element and Hazel?

Element and Hazel are both team chat & messaging tools but differ in their approach, features, and target audience. Compare their GitHub stats, technology stack, and community adoption to make the best choice.

Which is better: Element or Hazel?

The choice between Element and Hazel depends on your specific needs, technical requirements, and team preferences. Both are quality open source solutions with active communities.

Can I migrate from Element to Hazel?

Migration between Element and Hazel is possible but requires careful planning. Consider data export/import capabilities, feature parity, and potential workflow changes.

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Element vs Hazel

Learn how Element and Hazel differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these team chat & messaging tools is best for you.

Element

Open-source platform for encrypted communication, file sharing, and collaboration based on the Matrix protocol.

Visit Element Read more

13,660stars+79(+0.6%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
9 hours ago
Repository age
11 years
Version
v1.12.35
License
AGPL-3.0
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
element-web

Hazel

Team chat for developers with threads, full-text search, keyboard-first navigation, GitHub and Linear previews, desktop apps, and message sync with Slack and Discord.

Visit Hazel Read more

738stars+12(+1.7%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
6 hours ago
Repository age
2 years
Version
v1.1.3
License
FSL-1.1-ALv2
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
mapletechlabs/hazel

Detailed Comparison

Both Element and Hazel have their unique strengths and serve similar purposes effectively. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Element wins

Community & Popularity

Element significantly outpaces Hazel in community adoption with 13,660 stars compared to 738 stars on GitHub. This 18.5x difference suggests Element has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Element has 2,835 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Hazel wins

Growth Momentum

Hazel is growing faster, adding 12 stars in the last 30 days (+1.7%) against adding 79 stars for Element (+0.6%). Hazel is the smaller project of the two, so it is closing the gap rather than extending a lead.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Element last updated 9 hours ago and Hazel 6 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Typescript, JSX. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Element uses Python, Perl while Hazel leverages Rust, Kotlin, Tauri, Tanstack Start.

Element wins

Project Maturity

Element has been in development longer, starting 11 years ago, compared to Hazel which began 2 years ago. This 9.9-year head start suggests Element may have more mature features and established processes.

Comparable

Licensing

The projects use different licenses: Element is licensed under AGPL-3.0 while Hazel uses FSL-1.1-ALv2. Consider the licensing requirements when choosing for your project.

Comparable

Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in Team Chat & Messaging. However, they also have distinct specializations: Element also focuses on Encrypted Communication.

Comparable