head to head · open source
Element vs helm-secrets
Element has 13,470 GitHub stars, 2,757 forks, 3,779 open issues and last shipped yesterday. helm-secrets has 2,029 stars, 154 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Element leads on adoption by 564% (13,470 vs 2,029 stars). Element is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; helm-secrets is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. Element has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, helm-secrets 8%. 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 | helm-secrets | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 154 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Element if
- You weight community size — 13K 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 helm-secrets if
- You want the helm-secrets feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and helm-secrets fits your workflow better
About Element
Element is a Matrix collaboration client for the web and desktop, and its tagline describes it as secure, decentralized messaging for teams and individuals. It is built with the Matrix JS SDK and lives in the Matrix ecosystem as an open alternative to Slack and Google Meet.
read the full Element overview →
About helm-secrets
helm secrets is a Helm plugin that decrypts encrypted Helm value files on the fly, built for teams that keep Kubernetes secrets in Git or a cloud native secret manager and deploy charts with Helm or a GitOps operator such as ArgoCD.
read the full helm-secrets overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Element or helm-secrets more popular?
Element has 13,470 GitHub stars and helm-secrets has 2,029. Element has the larger community by that measure.
Are Element and helm-secrets free?
Both are open source. Element is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and helm-secrets under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Element and helm-secrets?
Element is written in TypeScript and helm-secrets in Shell. 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 helm-secrets?
Choose Element if you want the larger community (13,470 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose helm-secrets if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.