Suitable joining systems are an important factor for the successful application of thermoplastic composites (TPC) in multi-material systems. In industry in particular, there is a demand to reduce the number of different joining processes despite the increasing diversity of materials. In order to use established metal joining technologies, such as clinching or resistance spot welding (RSW), for composite-metal joints, auxiliary joining elements (inserts) can be integrated into the composite and used as joining interfaces. The metal inserts can be embedded into TPC during the part manufacturing process using a pin tool without damaging the reinforcing fibres. Subsequently, the composite part can be joined with aluminium or steel structures using either clinching or RSW. For this purpose, inserts differing in their geometries suitable for either clinching or RSW have already been investigated. In this paper, a versatile insert geometry is evaluated that is suitable for both joining processes. The develop-ment of the inserts was supported by process simulations and took into account the specific requirements of both joining processes. Inserts were embedded in glass fibre reinforced polypropylene sheets and then joined to metal sheets. The quality of the joints was analysed by microsections. In addition, the joint strength was evaluated by single-lap shear tests for the different joining technologies. It could be shown that high-quality clinched and welded joints can be achieved by using the developed versatile insert geometry as joining interface.