Plazer next to Signal, Telegram, TeamSpeak and Matrix.

Each of these messengers does something well. Plazer brings it together in one app: encrypted chats and groups, servers with channels, voice, an account without a phone number and your own server. Facts about the others come from their own sites, with a source next to each one.

Get Plazer Jump to the table

Plazer in eight sentences

Text and group encryption

Direct messages, groups and private server channels encrypted end-to-end with MLS (RFC 9420). Public channel messages are signed by the author's device.

Eight things to check before you move your friends over.

Each row is one question and each cell is a fact from that messenger's documentation. Click the source and read it on their site.

Criterion	Plazer	Signal	Telegram	TeamSpeak	Matrix (Element)
Text and group encryption	Direct messages, groups and private server channels encrypted end-to-end with MLS (RFC 9420). Public channel messages are signed by the author's device.More about this in Plazer	All conversations, group chats included, are always end-to-end encrypted.support.signal.org	Private and group cloud chats are encrypted between the app and the server. End-to-end only in one-to-one secret chats, on a single device.telegram.org	End-to-end only in contact and group chats, once switched on by hand. Messages on a server are not end-to-end.community.teamspeak.com	Rooms encrypted with Megolm. Room names and membership are visible to the server today, and MLS is not in use yet.arewemlsyet.com github.com
Servers and channels	Servers with text and voice channels, forums, announcements, stages and events, with roles and permissions for every channel.More about this in Plazer	No servers or channels. Groups of up to 1,000 people.support.signal.org	Groups of up to 200,000 people and broadcast channels with no audience limit.telegram.org	Servers with voice channels and chat, run by communities.teamspeak.com	Rooms that can be grouped into Spaces.spec.matrix.org
Voice and streams	Voice and video encrypted end-to-end, public channels included. Streams with no viewer limit, with chat, recording and clips.More about this in Plazer	Group calls of up to 75 people, end-to-end encrypted.support.signal.org support.signal.org	End-to-end encrypted calls, group calls of up to 200 people and channel live streams with no viewer limit.telegram.org	Voice channels. In TeamSpeak 3, AES voice encryption is a server option. 4K screen sharing at 60 fps in TeamSpeak 6.support.teamspeak.com teamspeak.com	Element Call on a LiveKit server (SFU), end-to-end encrypted.github.com
Account without a phone number	A name, a password and a recovery key. No phone number and no email.More about this in Plazer	A phone number. Without one only on Android, through the one-time paid Signal Login.signal.org support.signal.org	A phone number, which is the only way the account is identified.telegram.org	A myTeamSpeak account with a username, an email address and a password.support.teamspeak.com	An account with a provider you pick. On matrix.org a username, a password and an email to confirm.matrix.org
Your own server	Anyone can run a community server with one command from a Docker image. One account works on every server.More about this in Plazer	The server code is public, but Signal does not connect to other people's servers.support.signal.org signal.org	No. Telegram's architecture does not support federation or your own servers.telegram.org	Yes. TeamSpeak 3 is free for 1 server and 32 slots, TeamSpeak 6 is in beta with a 32-slot licence renewed every two months.support.teamspeak.com github.com	Yes. Your own homeserver holds its users' accounts and history and connects to others through federation.matrix.org
Open source	The code will be public. The central server, the community server and the encryption core under AGPL-3.0, the app and protocol licence given at publication.More about this in Plazer	The complete app and server code is on GitHub.support.signal.org	The apps are open, Telegram Desktop under GPL-3.0. The server code is not public.telegram.org github.com	App and server code are not public. The TeamSpeak 6 server repository holds instructions and a licence, no source code.github.com	The Synapse server and the Element apps under AGPL-3.0.element.io element.io
Profiles	Instagram-style posts, 24-hour stories, a wall, a song, a 3D room, badges and a separate profile on every server.More about this in Plazer	An end-to-end encrypted name and photo, plus stories that disappear after 24 hours.support.signal.org support.signal.org	Profile pictures and stories.telegram.org	A username and badges collected on the myTeamSpeak account.support.teamspeak.com support.teamspeak.com	Display name, avatar and time zone, and since spec version 1.16 custom fields too.spec.matrix.org
The desktop app	Installed from Chrome or Edge at app.plazer.org. It runs on the engine of the browser you already have, with no Chromium copy of its own and no installer.More about this in Plazer	Signal Desktop is built on Electron, with a built-in Chromium browser.github.com	Telegram Desktop is a native app on the Qt library.github.com	The TeamSpeak 6 client is in beta on Windows, macOS and Linux. The site does not say what it is built on.teamspeak.com	Element Desktop is built on Electron, with a built-in Chromium browser.github.com

The Plazer cells describe the version running today at app.plazer.org.

As of 5 October 2026.

Which conversations are end-to-end encrypted.

End-to-end encryption means only the people in the conversation read the content, while the server passes on a sealed cipher. Messengers differ in which conversations get this protection and whether you have to switch it on yourself.

Always end-to-end
End-to-end once switched on
Partly visible to the server
Not end-to-end
No such feature

Direct messagesGroupsChannels and rooms

PlazerMLSMLSprivate end-to-end, public signed
Signalalwaysup to 1,000 peopleno channels
Telegramsecret chat, one devicecloud chatcloud channels
TeamSpeakswitched on per chatgroup chat optionserver chat
Matrix (Element)MegolmMegolmroom names and membership visible

What you hand over to create an account.

A phone number ties an account to a SIM card, your contacts and your real name. This is what each messenger asks for at sign-up.

Plazer

UsernamePassword

You save a recovery key after signing up.

Signal

Phone number

Without a number only on Android, through the one-time paid Signal Login.

Phone number

The number is the only way the account is identified.

TeamSpeak

UsernameEmailPassword

You activate a myTeamSpeak account through an email link.

Matrix (Element)

UsernamePasswordEmail

That is how matrix.org does it. Requirements depend on the provider.

How Plazer protects an account with no phone number

Creating a Plazer account on a phone: a name and a password with no email or phone number, and a recovery key to write down

Where the servers are and who can run their own.

This decides who stores your conversations and whether a community can have a server of its own without everyone creating new accounts.

PlazerA central server for accounts and direct messages, plus community servers anyone can run.

SignalOne Signal service that does not connect to other people's servers.

TelegramOne Telegram cloud, no servers of your own.

TeamSpeakSeparate servers run by their owners, licensed by slot count.

Matrix (Element)Homeservers with their own accounts, connected by federation.

How to run a Plazer server

Voice, video and streams in numbers.

The key number or fact about calls in each messenger, taken from their documentation.

PlazerNo limiton stream viewersStreams with chat, recording and clips. Voice and video end-to-end encrypted, public channels included.
Signal75people per callA group call, end-to-end encrypted like every Signal call.
Telegram200people per callA group call. Channel live streams have no viewer limit.
TeamSpeak4K60 fpsScreen sharing in TeamSpeak 6. In TeamSpeak 3, AES voice encryption is a server option.
Matrix (Element)SFULiveKitElement Call with a LiveKit server for large meetings, end-to-end encrypted.

Voice, video and streams in Plazer

Open source and licences.

Open code lets anyone check that an app does what it promises. This is how it looks for each messenger.

AppsServer

PlazerTo be publiclicence at publicationTo be publicAGPL-3.0
SignalOpencode on GitHubOpencode on GitHub
TelegramOpenTelegram Desktop: GPL-3.0Closednot public
TeamSpeakClosedclosedClosedno source code
Matrix (Element)OpenElement: AGPL-3.0OpenSynapse: AGPL-3.0

The desktop app: with its own copy of a browser, or without one.

An app built on Electron carries its own copy of the Chromium browser, while a native one, like Telegram Desktop on the Qt library, does without it. Plazer installs from Chrome or Edge and runs on the engine of the browser you already have, so you download no second copy of Chromium and no installer.

PlazerOn the browser you haveapp.plazer.orgChrome or Edge
SignalWith a built-in browserElectronChromium
TelegramNativeQt
TeamSpeakNot statedTeamSpeak 6 in beta
Matrix (Element)With a built-in browserElectronChromium

How to install Plazer on your computer

Sources

Facts about other messengers come from their help pages, documentation, specifications and repositories. Checked on: 5 October 2026.

Signal

TeamSpeak

Matrix (Element)

Questions about the comparison

Short answers to what people ask when picking a messenger for themselves and their friends.

Plazer and Signal always encrypt groups end-to-end, Matrix does in encrypted rooms. In Telegram only one-to-one secret chats are end-to-end, and in TeamSpeak end-to-end encryption is switched on by hand for contact and group chats.

Plazer, TeamSpeak and Matrix do not ask for a number. Telegram requires one, and Signal lets you sign up without a number only on Android, through the one-time paid Signal Login.

Plazer, TeamSpeak and Matrix. Signal publishes its server code but does not connect to other people's servers, and Telegram does not support servers of your own.

Not end-to-end, because anyone who joins can read a public channel. Every message is signed by the author's device, though, so the server cannot forge it. Voice is encrypted on public channels too.

From their help pages, documentation, specifications and repositories. Every table cell links to its source, and the full list with the date we checked is at the bottom of the page.