Maubot 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?
Maubot
Plugin-based bot framework for Matrix chat rooms
VS
Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
| Feature | Maubot | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 891 | ★ 4,503 |
| First released | 2018 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Slack bots | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Maubot or Synapse better?
Neither is universally better. Synapse has the larger community, while Maubot is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Maubot and Synapse free and open-source?
Yes. Maubot is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Maubot and Synapse with Docker?
Maubot: yes. Synapse: yes.