Rspamd
Rspamd 4.3 fixes SPF evaluation order and rejects weak DKIM keys, with results that change.
Comparison · Comms
Maddy vs Element
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Maddy and Element — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Maddy vs Element: at a glance
What is Maddy?
maddy's back-to-back security releases close DMARC bypasses and IMAP storage bugs.
maddy is an all-in-one Go mail server for SMTP and IMAP. Its last two releases are security fixes: 0.9.6 in October required explicit trust for PROXY headers and closed an auth misconfiguration, and 0.9.7 fixes two DMARC verification bypasses that let attackers spoof domains with p=reject, plus long-standing IMAP storage bugs. Malformed MIME messages are now stored as a single part instead of being lost.
What is Element?
Element 1.12.35 follows the call picture-in-picture release with one desktop storage fix.
Element Web spent October on crypto UX: mandatory device verification, removal of guest tokens and NEB links, and a shorter recovery-key flow in 1.12.33. 1.12.34 shipped OS-level picture-in-picture for Element Call, a module switch that disables public rooms, recovery-key generation when logging out of the last device and fixes for two security advisories. 1.12.35, a day later, backports a single fallback to synchronous safeStorage.
Maddy vs Element: editorial side-by-side
Maddy
2.5COMMS
maddy's back-to-back security releases close DMARC bypasses and IMAP storage bugs.
◆ Current state
maddy is an all-in-one Go mail server for SMTP and IMAP. Its last two releases are security fixes: 0.9.6 in October required explicit trust for PROXY headers and closed an auth misconfiguration, and 0.9.7 fixes two DMARC verification bypasses that let attackers spoof domains with p=reject, plus long-standing IMAP storage bugs. Malformed MIME messages are now stored as a single part instead of being lost.
◆ Where it's heading
Feature work stopped after the 0.9 line in spring; recent releases are driven by reported vulnerabilities. The project is fixing correctness in mail authentication and storage rather than adding capabilities.
◆ Prediction
Further security point releases look more likely than a 0.10.0 feature release, though 0.9.1 flagged libdns provider removals for 0.10.0.
Element
5.0COMMS
Element 1.12.35 follows the call picture-in-picture release with one desktop storage fix.
◆ Current state
Element Web spent October on crypto UX: mandatory device verification, removal of guest tokens and NEB links, and a shorter recovery-key flow in 1.12.33. 1.12.34 shipped OS-level picture-in-picture for Element Call, a module switch that disables public rooms, recovery-key generation when logging out of the last device and fixes for two security advisories. 1.12.35, a day later, backports a single fallback to synchronous safeStorage.
◆ Where it's heading
Two tracks run in parallel: reducing key-loss failures in encryption, and giving deployers more control through the Module API. The public-room switch and timezone config point at managed and institutional deployments, while the new timeline in labs is slowly gaining parity features.
◆ Prediction
1.12.34 should ship stable within about a week, following the RC-to-release pattern of recent versions; read receipts suggest the new timeline is getting closer to replacing the old one.
Alternatives to Maddy and Element
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 Maddy or Element.
Twilio
Twilio's voice AI stops cutting callers off mid-sentence, using its own turn-taking model.
Salesmsg
Salesmsg adds call-back requests and a one-click Emergency Stop for all outbound texts.
Krisp
Krisp moves call transcripts and live captions to cloud transcription in KrispCX 2.84.4.
Misskey
Misskey 2026.11 ships: a leaner start script, and Node.js 22 no longer boots.
SlickText
SlickText's feed is all SMS buying guides; no product release has surfaced since RCS.
See all Maddy alternatives → · See all Element alternatives →
Recent activity from Maddy and Element
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoElementElement 1.12.35 backports a safeStorage fallback fix
- 3d agoElementElement 1.12.34: call picture-in-picture, two security fixes
- 7d agoElement1.12.34 RC.1 adds labs read receipts and configurable timezone
- 8d agoMaddymaddy 0.9.7 fixes two DMARC bypasses and IMAP storage bugs
- 10d agoElement1.12.34 RC: call picture-in-picture, module switch for public rooms
- 17d agoElementElement 1.12.33 ships simpler recovery keys, ends libolm migration
- 25d agoElement1.12.33 RC simplifies recovery keys, drops libolm migration
- 1mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.6 fixes PROXY trust and auth bypass misconfig
- 5mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.5 fixes nested pipeline logging and systemd reload reporting
- 6mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.4 removes the maddyctl symlink and implicit run command
- 7mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.3 patches an LDAP injection flaw in auth.ldap
- 7mo agoMaddymaddy 0.9.2 fixes an rspamd panic on unspecified tls_client
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Maddy and Element?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Element is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 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 Maddy better than Element?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Element is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 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 Maddy?
Top Maddy alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Maddy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/maddy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Element?
Top Element alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Element alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/element-web for the full list with editorial commentary on each.