Converse.js vs Synapse
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted matrix & xmpp options
— licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one
replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Compare Converse.js with
choose an app… Rocket.Chat Mattermost Zulip Tinode Element Web Let's Chat Matterbridge ejabberd The Lounge Dendrite Cinny WeeChat Ergo irssi Openfire FluffyChat Dino Nheko Tuwunel Conduit Nextcloud Talk ZNC Movim mautrix-whatsapp MongooseIM gomuks Profanity Convos IRC Syphon Element Call Dendrite Lite Element X Fractal Maubot JSXC Hydrogen matrix-nio Continuwuity mautrix-signal CoyIM Gajim mautrix-discord SchildiChat Ketesa Synapse Admin jabberd2 Mjolnir Construct Tigase XMPP Server Pantalaimon Sliding Sync Proxy matrix-appservice-slack Coqui Chat Synapse-MAS aioxmpp Poezio Slidge Sygnal Metronome IM matrix-corporal PeerTube Plugin LiveChat Commet go-sendxmpp Simple-Matrix-Bot-Lib Monocles Chat Openfire Pade Plugin Prose conduwuit Prosody
Compare Synapse with
choose an app… Rocket.Chat Mattermost Zulip SimpleX Chat Tinode Element Web Spectrum Let's Chat Berty Mumble Matterbridge ejabberd The Lounge Dendrite qTox Cinny WeeChat Ergo Revolt irssi Openfire FluffyChat Quicksy Bridge Tox Dino Nheko Tuwunel Conduit Spacebar Nextcloud Talk ZNC Movim mautrix-whatsapp MongooseIM gomuks Profanity InspIRCd Toxic Convos IRC Syphon Element Call KiwiIRC Dendrite Lite Bonfire Delta Chat Element X Fractal Maubot Briar Mumble Web JSXC Hydrogen matrix-nio Continuwuity mautrix-signal CoyIM Gajim Miaou Session mautrix-discord Chatmail Chatmail Relay SchildiChat Ketesa Synapse Admin jabberd2 Mjolnir Snikket Construct Tigase XMPP Server Pantalaimon Sliding Sync Proxy matrix-appservice-slack Coqui Chat Synapse-MAS Wesh Network aioxmpp Poezio Slidge Sygnal Metronome IM matrix-corporal PeerTube Plugin LiveChat Commet go-sendxmpp Simple-Matrix-Bot-Lib Monocles Chat Openfire Pade Plugin Prose conduwuit Prosody
Feature Converse.js Synapse Category Matrix & XMPP Matrix & XMPP License MPL-2.0 AGPL-3.0 Language JavaScript Python Setup difficulty Easy Hard Min. RAM 64 MB 1,024 MB Deployment docker, bare-metal, source docker, bare-metal GitHub stars ★ 3,285 ★ 4,503 First released 2013 2014 Replaces Slack Slack, Discord, WhatsApp
Why pick each one
Choose Converse.js if… Released under the MPL-2.0 license Easy to set up — beginner-friendly First-class Docker support for quick deployment Active community (3.3k GitHub stars) Converse.js details Choose Synapse if… Open federated protocol Strong encryption Bridges to other chats Synapse details
Frequently asked questions Is Converse.js or Synapse better? Neither is universally better. Synapse has the larger community, while Converse.js is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Converse.js and Synapse free and open-source? Yes. Converse.js is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Converse.js and Synapse with Docker? Converse.js: yes. Synapse: yes.