Ergo vs Syphon
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?
Ergo
Modern IRC server with IRCv3 and bouncer features
VS
Syphon
Privacy-focused Matrix client built with Flutter
| Feature | Ergo | Syphon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Dart |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,288 | ★ 1,061 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | WhatsApp, Discord |
Why pick each one
Choose Syphon if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Dart
Frequently asked questions
Is Ergo or Syphon better?
Neither is universally better. Ergo has the larger community, while Syphon is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ergo and Syphon free and open-source?
Yes. Ergo is licensed under MIT and Syphon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ergo and Syphon with Docker?
Ergo: yes. Syphon: check the project docs for container support.