Dendrite 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?
Compare Dendrite with
choose an app… Rocket.Chat Mattermost Zulip Tinode Element Web Spectrum Let's Chat Mumble Matterbridge ejabberd The Lounge Cinny WeeChat Ergo Converse.js Revolt irssi Openfire FluffyChat Tox Dino Nheko Tuwunel Conduit Spacebar Nextcloud Talk ZNC Movim mautrix-whatsapp MongooseIM gomuks Profanity InspIRCd Convos IRC Syphon Element Call KiwiIRC Dendrite Lite Bonfire Element X Fractal Maubot Mumble Web JSXC Hydrogen matrix-nio Continuwuity mautrix-signal CoyIM Gajim Miaou mautrix-discord SchildiChat Ketesa Synapse Admin jabberd2 Mjolnir Construct Tigase XMPP Server Pantalaimon Sliding Sync Proxy matrix-appservice-slack Coqui Chat Synapse-MAS aioxmpp Poezio Slidge Sygnal Metronome IM matrix-corporal PeerTube Plugin LiveChat Commet go-sendxmpp Simple-Matrix-Bot-Lib Monocles Chat Openfire Pade Plugin Prose conduwuit Prosody
Compare Synapse with
choose an app… Rocket.Chat Mattermost Zulip SimpleX Chat Tinode Element Web Spectrum Let's Chat Berty Mumble Matterbridge ejabberd The Lounge qTox Cinny WeeChat Ergo Converse.js Revolt irssi Openfire FluffyChat Quicksy Bridge Tox Dino Nheko Tuwunel Conduit Spacebar Nextcloud Talk ZNC Movim mautrix-whatsapp MongooseIM gomuks Profanity InspIRCd Toxic Convos IRC Syphon Element Call KiwiIRC Dendrite Lite Bonfire Delta Chat Element X Fractal Maubot Briar Mumble Web JSXC Hydrogen matrix-nio Continuwuity mautrix-signal CoyIM Gajim Miaou Session mautrix-discord Chatmail Chatmail Relay SchildiChat Ketesa Synapse Admin jabberd2 Mjolnir Snikket Construct Tigase XMPP Server Pantalaimon Sliding Sync Proxy matrix-appservice-slack Coqui Chat Synapse-MAS Wesh Network aioxmpp Poezio Slidge Sygnal Metronome IM matrix-corporal PeerTube Plugin LiveChat Commet go-sendxmpp Simple-Matrix-Bot-Lib Monocles Chat Openfire Pade Plugin Prose conduwuit Prosody
Feature Dendrite Synapse Category Matrix & XMPP Matrix & XMPP License Apache-2.0 AGPL-3.0 Language Go Python Setup difficulty Medium Hard Min. RAM 512 MB 1,024 MB Deployment docker, binary, source docker, bare-metal GitHub stars ★ 5,632 ★ 4,503 First released 2017 2014 Replaces Slack, Discord Slack, Discord, WhatsApp
Why pick each one
Choose Dendrite if… Much lighter than Synapse Active development by Matrix.org Dendrite details Choose Synapse if… Open federated protocol Strong encryption Bridges to other chats Synapse details
Frequently asked questions Is Dendrite or Synapse better? Dendrite is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Synapse if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Dendrite and Synapse free and open-source? Yes. Dendrite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dendrite and Synapse with Docker? Dendrite: yes. Synapse: yes.