irssi 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?
irssi
Modular terminal IRC client with scripting
VS
Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
| Feature | irssi | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,129 | ★ 4,503 |
| First released | 1999 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose irssi if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 32 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is irssi or Synapse better?
Neither is universally better. Synapse has the larger community, while irssi is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are irssi and Synapse free and open-source?
Yes. irssi is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run irssi and Synapse with Docker?
irssi: check the project docs for container support. Synapse: yes.