Element vs Stream

Element (Founded by the creators of Matrix, we build digitally sovereign, secure and interoperable real-time communication solutions for large organisations.) and Stream (Build scalable in-app chat, feeds, and live video with AI moderation capabilities in hours, not weeks.) both appear on the Smoower Developer Ecosystem Index.

Element (rank #189) holds a narrow lead over Stream (rank #317) on the overall Smoower ecosystem score (50 vs 44). The gap of 6 points reflects composite signals across code, docs, community and reach.

On code quality (the state of repositories, tests, releases and polish), Element is ahead of Stream. On education (docs, guides and learning material for developers), Element is slightly ahead of Stream. On community (issue response, PR reviews and discussion health), Element is slightly ahead of Stream. On reach (how visible the ecosystem is beyond its own repos), Element is clearly ahead of Stream. On momentum (release cadence and how fast the ecosystem moves), Stream is clearly ahead of Element.

Element carries 34,608 GitHub stars across 137 public repos, with 33 repositories active in the last 90 days and 97 external contributors on record. Stream shows 35,664 stars across 487 public repos, 84 active in the last 90 days and 44 external contributors.

Element is the stronger read for anyone weighting reach. Stream looks better where momentum is the deciding factor. The table below breaks the scores down pillar by pillar; the linked profiles cover the underlying repos, docs and community signals in full.