Bonfire vs Synapse
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Bonfire
Federated social networking toolkit for communities
VS
Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
| Feature | Bonfire | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 930 | ★ 4,503 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Facebook Groups, Discord | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose Bonfire if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is Bonfire or Synapse better?
Neither is universally better. Synapse has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bonfire and Synapse free and open-source?
Yes. Bonfire is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bonfire and Synapse with Docker?
Bonfire: yes. Synapse: yes.