Conduit vs Element Web
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Conduit
Simple, fast and reliable Matrix homeserver in Rust
VS
Element Web
Glossy Matrix client for the web and desktop
| Feature | Conduit | Element Web |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,200 | ★ 13,502 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams |
What are Conduit and Element Web?
Conduit
Conduit is a lightweight Matrix homeserver written in Rust that aims to be easy to set up and run on small servers. It uses an embedded database and requires minimal configuration.
- Embedded database, no external DB
- Very low resource usage
- Single binary deployment
- Matrix federation support
Element Web
Element Web is the flagship Matrix client, providing a polished interface for chat, voice, and video over the Matrix protocol. It can be self-hosted alongside a homeserver for a fully owned communication stack.
- Full-featured Matrix client
- End-to-end encryption
- Voice and video calls
- Customizable branding
Conduit vs Element Web: key differences
Conduit is written in Rust, while Element Web is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Conduit versus AGPL-3.0 for Element Web. Element Web is the more established project (first released 2016), while Conduit arrived in 2020. Element Web has the considerably larger community, at 13,502 GitHub stars versus 2,200.
Why pick each one
Choose Conduit if…
- Extremely easy to deploy
- Runs on a Raspberry Pi
Watch out for
- Not all Matrix features implemented
- Smaller ecosystem
Choose Element Web if…
- Most mature Matrix client
- Active development
Watch out for
- Heavier than minimal clients
- Best paired with own homeserver
Frequently asked questions
Is Conduit or Element Web better?
Neither is universally better. Element Web has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Conduit and Element Web free and open-source?
Yes. Conduit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Element Web under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Conduit and Element Web with Docker?
Conduit: yes. Element Web: yes.