Team chat · 3-way · 2026
Element · Mattermost · Slack
Three credible picks in team chat. Here's the trade-off that actually decides it.
Reviewed by Switchpoint Editors ·
Element
End-to-end encrypted chat on the Matrix protocol.
- Privacy-first orgs and federated networks.
- Free. Hosted from $5/user/mo.
- E2E encrypted
- UX less polished than Slack
Best for
Pricing
Top strength
Biggest trade-off
Mattermost
Open-source, self-hosted Slack alternative.
- Regulated industries and security-conscious teams.
- Free self-hosted. Pro $10/user/mo.
- Self-hostable
- Requires ops resources
Best for
Pricing
Top strength
Biggest trade-off
Slack
Channel-based team messaging.
- Teams that live in channels and threads.
- Free with 90-day limit. Pro $7.25/user/mo.
- Best-in-class integrations
- Per-seat pricing adds up
Best for
Pricing
Top strength
Biggest trade-off
The matrix
Side-by-side-by-side
| Element | Mattermost | Slack | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Privacy-first orgs and federated networks. | Regulated industries and security-conscious teams. | Teams that live in channels and threads. |
| Pricing | Free. Hosted from $5/user/mo. | Free self-hosted. Pro $10/user/mo. | Free with 90-day limit. Pro $7.25/user/mo. |
| Top strength | E2E encrypted | Self-hostable | Best-in-class integrations |
| Biggest trade-off | UX less polished than Slack | Requires ops resources | Per-seat pricing adds up |
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