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Comparison · Meetings
Adobe Connect vs Element Call
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Adobe Connect and Element Call — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Adobe Connect vs Element Call: at a glance
What is Adobe Connect?
Adobe Connect's changelog stream has gone quiet — last captured release is from mid-2022.
The visible changelog is dominated by version-bump release notes from 2021, captured by the crawler in mid-2022. There is no fresh user-visible content in the recent entries — only version numbers and Adobe support-site navigation chrome. From this signal alone, the product appears in maintenance, with Adobe's attention on Captivate and Learning Manager.
What is Element Call?
Element Call starts moving to new LiveKit transports and falls back to remote SFUs when needed.
Element Call ships a release candidate roughly every two to three weeks. v0.28.1-rc.1 adds a breaking change that falls back to publishing media on a remote SFU when possible, supports migrating to new LiveKit transport types and endpoints, and fixes room v12 power-level compatibility. It also brings in a MatrixRTC SDK and patches several dependency security advisories. The previous rc added a quick audio menu and redacted analytics IDs from rageshakes.
Adobe Connect vs Element Call: editorial side-by-side
Adobe Connect
0.0MEETINGS
Adobe Connect's changelog stream has gone quiet — last captured release is from mid-2022.
◆ Current state
The visible changelog is dominated by version-bump release notes from 2021, captured by the crawler in mid-2022. There is no fresh user-visible content in the recent entries — only version numbers and Adobe support-site navigation chrome. From this signal alone, the product appears in maintenance, with Adobe's attention on Captivate and Learning Manager.
◆ Where it's heading
Either Adobe has moved Connect updates to a feed our crawler does not see, or the product is genuinely on a maintenance footing. Mainstream video conferencing demand has consolidated around Zoom, Teams, and Meet, leaving Adobe Connect's enterprise-training niche under pressure. Without fresh shipping cadence, the product reads as a legacy installed base rather than an active line of investment.
◆ Prediction
Watch for a positioning announcement (rebrand under Learning Suite, deprecation, or sunset notice) rather than a feature release. If a new release notes URL surfaces, our crawler config likely needs to be repointed.
Element Call
5.0MEETINGS
Element Call starts moving to new LiveKit transports and falls back to remote SFUs when needed.
◆ Current state
Element Call ships a release candidate roughly every two to three weeks. v0.28.1-rc.1 adds a breaking change that falls back to publishing media on a remote SFU when possible, supports migrating to new LiveKit transport types and endpoints, and fixes room v12 power-level compatibility. It also brings in a MatrixRTC SDK and patches several dependency security advisories. The previous rc added a quick audio menu and redacted analytics IDs from rageshakes.
◆ Where it's heading
With the MatrixRTC protocol cutover finished in August, the team is now working on the media transport layer itself: how calls find and publish to SFUs and how LiveKit endpoints change underneath them. Packaging the RTC logic as an SDK suggests it is meant to be reused beyond the Element Call app.
◆ Prediction
Expect a 0.28.1 final and follow-ups to the LiveKit transport migration; whether the MatrixRTC SDK gets its own release isn't clear from the entries.
Alternatives to Adobe Connect and Element Call
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 Adobe Connect or Element Call.
HOMER
HOMER 11.0.369 fixes S3 auth on Ceph-based storage and stops compaction memory growth.
JW Player
JW Player moves CMAF VOD into the dashboard, adds AV1, and opens Broadcast Live to audio-only feeds.
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.
Nextcloud Talk
Nextcloud Talk patches v22 and v23 while v25 stable sits five weeks past its last RC.
See all Adobe Connect alternatives → · See all Element Call alternatives →
Recent activity from Adobe Connect and Element Call
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoElement CallElement Call 0.28.1 rc adds remote-SFU fallback and LiveKit migration
- 23d agoElement CallQuick audio menu, bell reaction sound and redacted analytics IDs
- 1mo agoElement Callv0.26.1-rc.1
- 1mo agoElement Callv0.26.0-rc.2
- 1mo agoElement Callv0.26.0-rc.1
- 2mo agoElement CallMatrixRTC legacy mode removed — all calls now run on the new protocol ⚡
- 4y agoAdobe ConnectAdobe Connect 11.0.7 release notes (January 2021)
- 4y agoAdobe ConnectAdobe Connect 11.2 release notes (February 2021)
- 4y agoAdobe ConnectAdobe Connect 11.2.1 release notes (Apr 2021)
- 4y agoAdobe ConnectAdobe Connect 11.3 release notes (Sep 2021)
- 4y agoAdobe ConnectAdobe Connect application for desktop 2021.3 release notes (March 2021)
- 4y agoAdobe ConnectAdobe Connect 11.4 release notes (Nov 2021)
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Adobe Connect and Element Call?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Element Call is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), 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 Adobe Connect better than Element Call?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Element Call is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Meetings products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Adobe Connect?
Top Adobe Connect alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Adobe Connect alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/adobe-connect for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
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.