Fourwaves
Fourwaves follows its participant inbox with a week of admin fixes and security hardening.
Comparison · Meetings
Element Call vs Nextcloud Talk
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Element Call and Nextcloud Talk — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Element Call vs Nextcloud Talk: at a glance
What is Element Call?
With the protocol cutover behind it, Element Call is back to polishing the in-call experience.
Element Call finished its architectural transition this summer: multi-SFU routing became the default in v0.21 and MatrixRTC legacy mode was removed in v0.25. The releases since are smaller: audio output defaults, delayed-leave timing tweaks, and now a quick audio menu and bell reaction sound in v0.28.
What is Nextcloud Talk?
Nextcloud Talk patches v22 and v23 while v25 stable sits five weeks past its last RC.
Nextcloud Talk's newest releases are maintenance drops for the v22 and v23 branches: a faster conversation-list unread cache, rate limiting on public-share and video verification, and a Matterbridge domain check against DNS rebinding. v23.0.12 also fixes SIP so direct incoming calls register as phone participants. The v25 line, which carries classified conversations, an owner role and configurable AI call summaries, has not moved past RC3 since September 10.
Element Call vs Nextcloud Talk: editorial side-by-side
Element Call
5.0MEETINGS
With the protocol cutover behind it, Element Call is back to polishing the in-call experience.
◆ Current state
Element Call finished its architectural transition this summer: multi-SFU routing became the default in v0.21 and MatrixRTC legacy mode was removed in v0.25. The releases since are smaller: audio output defaults, delayed-leave timing tweaks, and now a quick audio menu and bell reaction sound in v0.28.
◆ Where it's heading
The team is moving from protocol plumbing to call ergonomics and embedding. Recent work targets audio controls, reactions, and the embedded component used inside Element Web, along with privacy hygiene such as redacting analytics IDs from bug reports. Release cadence has stretched to roughly two to three weeks per release candidate.
◆ Prediction
Expect more in-call controls and embedded-widget fixes in the next release candidates. A new breaking change looks unlikely while the post-cutover stack settles.
Nextcloud Talk
5.0MEETINGS
Nextcloud Talk patches v22 and v23 while v25 stable sits five weeks past its last RC.
◆ Current state
Nextcloud Talk's newest releases are maintenance drops for the v22 and v23 branches: a faster conversation-list unread cache, rate limiting on public-share and video verification, and a Matterbridge domain check against DNS rebinding. v23.0.12 also fixes SIP so direct incoming calls register as phone participants. The v25 line, which carries classified conversations, an owner role and configurable AI call summaries, has not moved past RC3 since September 10.
◆ Where it's heading
The feature story is still v25's compliance and governance set aimed at regulated, self-hosted deployments. Meanwhile the older branches are getting security hardening rather than features, which fits a team prioritizing stable-line safety before a major cut. The long gap after RC3 suggests the v25 release is gated on something not visible in these notes.
◆ Prediction
The next notable release is v25.0.0 stable or a further RC; the entries don't show why it has stalled, so timing is unclear.
Alternatives to Element Call and Nextcloud Talk
Other Meetings products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Element Call or Nextcloud Talk.
HOMER
HOMER 11.0.369 fixes S3 auth on Ceph-based storage and stops compaction memory growth.
JW Player
JW Player adds DRM license monitoring as JWX gathers operations into one dashboard.
rtpengine
rtpengine opens the mr26.3 branch with a rollback message and leaner call state.
Nextcloud Talk Desktop
Nextcloud Talk Desktop 2.3.3 adds accessibility options and bundles Talk v25.0.6.
Kamailio
Kamailio's feed shows quiet, migration-free upkeep across two stable branches.
See all Element Call alternatives → · See all Nextcloud Talk alternatives →
Recent activity from Element Call and Nextcloud Talk
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11d agoNextcloud Talkv23.0.12: SIP call fix, rate limiting, Matterbridge hardening
- 11d agoNextcloud Talkv22.0.19: share-auth rate limiting and Matterbridge fix
- 20d agoElement CallQuick audio menu, bell reaction sound and redacted analytics IDs
- 1mo agoElement Callv0.26.1-rc.1
- 1mo agoNextcloud TalkNextcloud Talk v25.0.0 RC3: file preview fixes
- 1mo agoNextcloud Talkv23.0.11
- 1mo agoNextcloud Talkv22.0.18
- 1mo agoElement Callv0.26.0-rc.2
- 1mo agoElement Callv0.26.0-rc.1
- 1mo agoNextcloud Talkv25.0.0 RC2: configurable AI call summary prompts
- 1mo agoElement CallMatrixRTC legacy mode removed — all calls now run on the new protocol ⚡
- 2mo agoElement Callv0.24.0-rc.1
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Element Call and Nextcloud Talk?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Element Call and Nextcloud Talk are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Element Call better than Nextcloud Talk?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Element Call and Nextcloud Talk are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Meetings products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Element Call?
Top Element Call alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Element Call alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/element-call for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Nextcloud Talk?
Top Nextcloud Talk alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Nextcloud Talk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nextcloud-talk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.