SHSelfHostIndex

Dendrite Lite vs Syphon

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?
DE Dendrite Lite Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go VS SY Syphon Privacy-focused Matrix client built with Flutter
FeatureDendrite LiteSyphon
CategoryMatrix & XMPPMatrix & XMPP
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageGoDart
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarybinary, source
GitHub stars★ 955★ 1,061
First released20172020
ReplacesSlack, DiscordWhatsApp, Discord

Why pick each one

Choose Dendrite Lite if…

  • Lighter than Synapse
  • Open standard protocol
Dendrite Lite details

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
Syphon details

Frequently asked questions

Is Dendrite Lite or Syphon better?

Syphon is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Dendrite Lite if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Dendrite Lite and Syphon free and open-source?

Yes. Dendrite Lite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Syphon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Dendrite Lite and Syphon with Docker?

Dendrite Lite: yes. Syphon: check the project docs for container support.

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