Dendrite vs Synapse Admin
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?
Dendrite
Second-generation Matrix homeserver written in Go
VS
Synapse Admin
Web admin interface for Synapse Matrix homeservers
| Feature | Dendrite | Synapse Admin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,632 | ★ 457 |
| First released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Synapse Admin if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Dendrite or Synapse Admin better?
Neither is universally better. Dendrite has the larger community, while Synapse Admin is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dendrite and Synapse Admin free and open-source?
Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Synapse Admin under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite and Synapse Admin with Docker?
Dendrite: yes. Synapse Admin: yes.