head to head · open source
Element vs ejbca-ce
Element has 13,640 GitHub stars, 2,814 forks, 3,779 open issues and last shipped today. ejbca-ce has 967 stars, 166 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Element leads on adoption by 1,311% (13,640 vs 967 stars). Element is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; ejbca-ce is written in Java under LGPL-2.1. Element has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, ejbca-ce 17%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Element | ejbca-ce | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 967 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 166 |
| 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 ejbca-ce if
- You want the ejbca-ce feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and ejbca-ce 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 ejbca-ce
EJBCA Community Note: We take the security of EJBCA and the trust of our users seriously. If you believe you have identified a security vulnerability in EJBCA, please report it responsibly by contacting us at security@primekey.com. EJBCA Community Edition is not intended for production use. For PKI production deployments, use Keyfactor EJBCA Enterprise Edition. Welcome to the EJBCA Community EJBCA is a public key infrastructure (PKI) and certificate authority (CA) solution and one of the longest running CA software projects. It is platform independent and covers the full certificate lifecycle, from enrollment…
read the full ejbca-ce overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Data Security & Privacy projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Data Security & Privacy field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Element or ejbca-ce more popular?
Element has 13,640 GitHub stars and ejbca-ce has 967. Element has the larger community by that measure.
Are Element and ejbca-ce free?
Both are open source. Element is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ejbca-ce under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Element and ejbca-ce?
Element is written in TypeScript and ejbca-ce in Java. 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 ejbca-ce?
Choose Element if you want the larger community (13,640 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ejbca-ce if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.