Review of the account providers for [matrix] listed by matrix.org
This page provides information to assist new [matrix] users who want to create an account with a provider listed on [ Hosting - Why not matrix.org? ] To suggest corrections or additions to this page, click "root" at the top and then scroll down to the "Contact" paragraph near the bottom of that page.
The official matrix.org list of providers is useless and confusing to people new to the [matrix] system because it conflates two very different kinds of providers, and most of the links will take you to websites that are, well, not crafted for clarity (to put it mildly). This page is written to guide you if you just want to create an account so that you can access the [matrix] system as an individual.
As of this writing, the official page displays links to nine providers, and we have experience with another, but only four offer accounts for individuals to access [matrix]. Here is the breakdown:
These do offer accounts for individuals to access [matrix]:
These do not offer accounts for individuals to access [matrix]; they only offer to set up a dedicated server for you, either on your equipment or in their datacenter:
These providers should not be considered, because they are known to have either servers or web pages that do not work, indicating that they are "not ready for prime time":
Review of these providers is pending:
Conclusion and recommendation: As of this writing, [ communick - Matrix ] is the only provider worthy of consideration by individuals who want to create an account to use to access the [matrix] system. Opening an account with them will cost you about $2.50 USD / month, after a free trial period. We receive no payment or other compensation for making this recommendation. We use them, and we found them the hard way. Their server seems to be reliable and they are easy to contact for support.
In our opinion, communick is the only viable alternative to just creating a free account at [ matrix.org - Try Matrix ] But if you want a free account, and won't mind the crowded, slow server and the poor support, just go to that page and click the "Install Element" button. Do not even look at anything on the page. It is so poorly written that it is as if it is intentionally designed to nuke your attempt to find your way to [matrix]! Whenever prompted, just select Element as the client and select matrix.org as the "home server".
Good luck and happy chatting! Don't be cheap. You get what you pay for. Opt for a communick.com account rather than an account on the overloaded and abused matrix.org servers. You'll be happier and you'll be putting $2.50 / month into growing the [matrix] ecosystem.