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Comparison · Comms
Element X Android vs SimpleX Chat
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Element X Android and SimpleX Chat — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:messaging
Element X Android vs SimpleX Chat: at a glance
What is Element X Android?
Element X ships monthly, grinding a Matrix client toward feature parity and polish.
Element X Android is a mature Matrix messaging client on a steady calendar-versioned monthly cadence (v26.05–v26.07), backed by a Rust SDK it upgrades almost weekly. Recent work is broad but incremental: media viewer and image-editing UX, live location sharing, threads, Element Call integration, accessibility, and a security patch. There is no single directional pivot — this is disciplined parity-and-polish work.
What is SimpleX Chat?
SimpleX builds out channels in the v7.0 beta, layering broadcast roles onto its no-identifiers messenger
SimpleX Chat is mid-way through its v7.0 beta cycle, and the throughline is channels: web previews to read posts before joining, owner-managed relays, promotable subscriber-to-contributor roles, and supporter badges. Interleaved with the feature betas are armv7a build tags that are merge-only and carry no release content.
Element X Android vs SimpleX Chat: editorial side-by-side
Element X Android
5.0COMMS
Element X ships monthly, grinding a Matrix client toward feature parity and polish.
◆ Current state
Element X Android is a mature Matrix messaging client on a steady calendar-versioned monthly cadence (v26.05–v26.07), backed by a Rust SDK it upgrades almost weekly. Recent work is broad but incremental: media viewer and image-editing UX, live location sharing, threads, Element Call integration, accessibility, and a security patch. There is no single directional pivot — this is disciplined parity-and-polish work.
◆ Where it's heading
The client is closing gaps with the legacy Element app: features are steadily promoted out of feature flags (live location sharing, room directory search, sign-in with classic), media handling keeps getting reworked, and calls are moving to embedded Element Call. Renaming OIDC to OAuth and hardening SDK key storage suggests continued attention to the auth and encryption plumbing underneath the UI.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next monthly releases to keep promoting flagged features to GA and iterating on media, threads, and Element Call, with the near-weekly Rust SDK bumps continuing to drive most under-the-hood change.
SimpleX Chat
6.3COMMS
SimpleX builds out channels in the v7.0 beta, layering broadcast roles onto its no-identifiers messenger
◆ Current state
SimpleX Chat is mid-way through its v7.0 beta cycle, and the throughline is channels: web previews to read posts before joining, owner-managed relays, promotable subscriber-to-contributor roles, and supporter badges. Interleaved with the feature betas are armv7a build tags that are merge-only and carry no release content.
◆ Where it's heading
The privacy-first, no-user-identifiers messenger is adding a broadcast/community layer on top of its 1:1 and group foundations. v7.0 reads as SimpleX's push toward public channels as a first-class surface, with the role system (owners, contributors, subscribers, supporters) and relay management being the scaffolding for larger, semi-public communities while keeping the metadata-minimal model.
◆ Prediction
Expect v7.0 to stabilize out of beta with channels fully fleshed out, and the supporter-badge work to hint at a creator/monetization angle for channel owners.
Alternatives to Element X Android and SimpleX Chat
Other Comms 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 X Android or SimpleX Chat.
Melp
A collaboration app visible only through answer-engine-optimized blog posts
MirrorFly
A chat-API vendor whose feed is competitor-comparison SEO, not release notes
WATI
Wati's feed is all WhatsApp marketing content, not product releases
Whereby
Whereby leans into embedded video as a developer platform via steady monthly SDK roundups
SMTP2GO
A blog-heavy feed masks the real signal: API upgrades for high-volume senders
See all Element X Android alternatives → · See all SimpleX Chat alternatives →
Recent activity from Element X Android and SimpleX Chat
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoElement X AndroidElement X Android v26.07.0
- 7d agoSimpleX Chatv7.0.0-beta.2
- 7d agoSimpleX Chatarmv7a build tag (no release notes)
- 10d agoSimpleX Chatv7.0.0-beta.1
- 10d agoSimpleX Chatarmv7a build tag (no release notes)
- 11d agoSimpleX Chatv6.5.6 armv7a build tag (no release notes)
- 14d agoSimpleX Chatv7.0.0-beta.0 ⚡
- 14d agoElement X AndroidElement X Android v26.06.4
- 16d agoElement X AndroidElement X Android v26.06.3
- 23d agoElement X AndroidSecurity fix for OIDC callback URL crash
- 29d agoElement X AndroidElement X Android v26.06.1
- 1mo agoElement X AndroidElement X Android v26.05.2
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Element X Android and SimpleX Chat?
Both compete on the same themes — messaging — within Comms. SimpleX Chat is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Element X Android better than SimpleX Chat?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SimpleX Chat is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Element X Android?
Top Element X Android alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Element X Android alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/element-x-android for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SimpleX Chat?
Top SimpleX Chat alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SimpleX Chat alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/simplex-chat for the full list with editorial commentary on each.