Sparks compared – why open technology?
Choose a platform that combines data sovereignty, open standards, and Microsoft integration.
Sparks feature status: March 2026 (Vistameet-Teams & Vista-Teams-Docs).
✓ available ⚠ partial ✗ not available
| Feature | Sparks | Microsoft Teams | Zoom | Webex | OpenDesk | Wire | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat & Messaging | |||||||
| 1:1 / Group Chat | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Channels | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Threads | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| @Mentions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Forward | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Read Status | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| GIFs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduled Messages | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Edit/Delete Messages | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chat Summaries (AI) | ⚠ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Matrix Chat | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| MS Teams Chat | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Meetings & Calls | |||||||
| Audio/Video (1:1 & Groups) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Breakout Rooms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Whiteboard | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Polls | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Q&A | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Recording | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Captions / Transcription | ⚠ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Background Effects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Raise Hand | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Spotlight / Pin | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Waiting Room / Lobby | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Webinars | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Teams & Channels | |||||||
| Teams with Channels | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tabs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Files in Channels | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voice (PSTN) | |||||||
| PSTN Calls | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Voicemail | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Files & Collaboration | |||||||
| Files in Chat | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| WebDAV (e.g. Nextcloud) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| SharePoint / OneDrive | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ⚠ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Office File Preview | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Calendar & Planning | |||||||
| Calendar MS Exchange | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Calendar Nextcloud | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Calendar Open-Xchange | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Schedule Meetings | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Search & Activity | |||||||
| Unified Search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Activity Feed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI & Copilot | |||||||
| AI / Copilot | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Meeting Recaps | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Security & E2EE | |||||||
| E2EE (Chat) | ✓ | ⚠ | ⚠ | ⚠ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| E2EE (Meetings) | ✓ | ✗ | ⚠ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open Protocol (Matrix) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self-Hosting | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Data Sovereignty | ✓ | ⚠ | ⚠ | ⚠ | ✓ | ⚠ | ✓ |
| Contacts & Privacy | |||||||
| Priority Contacts | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Blocked Contacts | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Platforms | |||||||
| Desktop App (Windows, macOS, Linux) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile Apps (iOS, Android) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web without Install | ✓ | ⚠ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Why Sparks?
- ✓ Open technology: Matrix, WebRTC – no proprietary lock-in
- ✓ Data sovereignty: Self-hosting and EU locations available
- ✓ Microsoft + Matrix: Teams chat and Matrix in one interface
- ✓ AI assistant: Configurable, context from calendar, contacts, channels
- ✓ Multi-backend: Calendar from Exchange, Nextcloud, Open-Xchange
- ✓ Web-first: Fully usable in browser, no mandatory app installation