head to head · open source
Element vs certificates
Element has 13,634 GitHub stars, 2,814 forks, 3,779 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. certificates has 9,032 stars, 615 forks, 299 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Element leads on adoption by 51% (13,634 vs 9,032 stars). Element is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; certificates is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Element has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, certificates 7%. Element was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Element | certificates | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 9.0K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 615 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Element if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick certificates if
- You want the certificates feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and certificates fits your workflow better
About Element
Element Element (formerly known as Vector and Riot) is a Matrix web & desktop client built using the Matrix JS SDK. Supported Environments Element has several tiers of support for different environments: Supported Definition: Issues actively triaged , regressions block the release Last 2 major versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge on desktop OSes Last 2 versions of Safari Latest release of official Element Desktop app on desktop OSes Desktop OSes means macOS, Windows, and Linux versions for desktop devices that are actively supported by the OS vendor and receive security updates Best effort Definition: Issues…
read the full Element overview →
About certificates
step ca step ca is an online certificate authority for secure, automated certificate management for DevOps. It's the server counterpart to the step CLI tool for working with certificates and keys. Both projects are maintained by Smallstep Labs. You can use step ca to: Issue HTTPS server and client certificates that work in browsers (RFC5280 and CA/Browser Forum compliance) Issue TLS certificates for DevOps: VMs, containers, APIs, database connections, Kubernetes pods... Issue SSH certificates: For people, in exchange for single sign on identity tokens For hosts, in exchange for cloud instance identity documents…
read the full certificates overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Element or certificates more popular?
Element has 13,634 GitHub stars and certificates has 9,032. Element has the larger community by that measure.
Are Element and certificates free?
Both are open source. Element is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and certificates under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Element and certificates?
Element is written in TypeScript and certificates in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Element or certificates?
Choose Element if you want the larger community (13,634 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose certificates if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.