Compare providers
Side-by-side comparison for any two listings. Pick by provider id (e.g. mullvad, ivpn, feather). Updates live as curators re-grade.
| SimpleX Chat | Element | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | tools | tools |
| Subcategory | Messaging | Messaging |
| Grade | A | A |
| Editor's Pick | ★ yes | — |
| Tagline | Decentralised messenger with no user IDs at all. The only major messenger that doesn't identify users. | Federated E2E chat. Self-hostable, open-source, hosts most XMR/privacy community rooms. |
| Fees | Free · open-source · self-hostable relays | Free · federated · self-hostable · clients on all platforms |
| KYC posture | anonymous_signup | anonymous_signup |
| Highlight tags | NO-IDOPEN-SOURCESELF-HOST | FEDERATEDE2ECOMMUNITY |
| Feature tags | non_custodialopen_sourceself_hostedtor_supportedno_js_supported | non_custodialopen_sourceself_hostedtor_supported2fa_supported |
| Web | https://simplex.chat | https://element.io |
| Tor | — | — |
| Last verified | 2026-05-12 | 2026-05-13 |