A SAW element has a substrate; an IDT electrode located on an upper surface of the substrate and comprises Al or an alloy containing Al; a first film located on an upper surface of the IDT electrode; and a protective layer which covers the IDT electrode provided with the first film and the portion of the substrate exposed from the IDT electrode, which has a thickness from the upper surface of the substrate larger than a total thickness of the IDT electrode and first film, and which contains a silicon oxide. The first film contains a material which has a larger acoustic impedance than the material (Al or the alloy containing Al) of the IDT electrode and the silicon oxide and which has a slower propagation velocity of an acoustic wave than the material of the IDT electrode and the silicon oxide.