Construct 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?
Construct
High-performance Matrix homeserver written in C++
VS
Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
| Feature | Construct | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 395 | ★ 4,503 |
| First released | 2018 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose Construct if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Construct 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 Construct and Synapse free and open-source?
Yes. Construct is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Construct and Synapse with Docker?
Construct: check the project docs for container support. Synapse: yes.