Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging
Depends
Confidence: Low
Choose this if you are an Android user comfortable with XMPP who wants a free messenger with audited end-to-end encryption.
Comparison
Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging vs Element
Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging and Element both land on Depends.
Element
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you are a government, regulated org, or team needing self-hosted E2EE and data sovereignty.
| Compare | Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging | Element |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Privacy-focused Android users | Governments and public sector |
| Who it's not for | Teams wanting Slack-style workplace chat | Small teams wanting a simple Slack replacement |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.² | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁶ |
| Support quality | No support evidence in reviewed sources. | No support evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | No independent user reviews surfaced in the sources reviewed; claims come from the project's own site and repositories.¹ | Reviews call Element genuinely appealing for security, while coverage stresses users need education to use it well.⁷ |
| Biggest gotcha | Android-only client . iPhone or desktop users need an entirely different app³ | Pricing is not published; expect a sales conversation for hosted plans15 |
Pick Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging when
- Privacy-focused Android users
- Existing XMPP/Jabber users
- Self-hosters and open source fans
When Conversations: the very last word in instant messaging is not a fit
- Teams wanting Slack-style workplace chat
- Anyone on iPhone or desktop only
- Non-technical users unwilling to pick an XMPP server
Pick Element when
- Governments and public sector
- Sovereignty-focused, self-hosting orgs
- Security-conscious distributed teams
- Cross-organisation federated messaging
When Element is not a fit
- Small teams wanting a simple Slack replacement
- Buyers with no admin or dev resources
- Anyone needing zero-setup, consumer-simple messaging
- Teams needing published per-seat pricing upfront
Sources
- Conversations: the very last word in instant messagingconversations.imofficial
- OMEMO: Cryptographic Analysis Reportconversations.imsecurity
official
official
- privacy-tools.md - CloudBook.wikicloudbook.wikireview
official
- Element secure messenger review - TechRadartechradar.comreview
news
- Element Reviews & Ratings 2026 - TrustRadiustrustradius.comreview
- Element Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - SoftwareAdvicesoftwareadvice.comreview
- Element bags $25.4M - SiliconCanalssiliconcanals.comnews
- Messaging app used by governments raises £22m - BusinessCloudbusinesscloud.co.uknews
- The Forrester Wave: Secure Communications, Q3 2022try.element.ionews
- British Geriatrics Society case studydrupology.co.ukofficial
- element . pricing, use cases & alternatives - CostPerSeatcostperseat.comreview