Pantalaimon 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?
Pantalaimon
End-to-end encryption-aware Matrix reverse proxy
VS
Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
| Feature | Pantalaimon | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 331 | ★ 4,503 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | — | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose Pantalaimon if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Pantalaimon or Synapse better?
Neither is universally better. Synapse has the larger community, while Pantalaimon is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pantalaimon and Synapse free and open-source?
Yes. Pantalaimon is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pantalaimon and Synapse with Docker?
Pantalaimon: yes. Synapse: yes.