Miaou vs Synapse
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Miaou
Self-hosted multi-room chat with markdown and code blocks
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Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
| Feature | Miaou | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 553 | ★ 4,503 |
| First released | 2014 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Discord, Slack | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp |
Why pick each one
Choose Miaou if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Miaou or Synapse better?
Neither is universally better. Synapse has the larger community, while Miaou is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Miaou and Synapse free and open-source?
Yes. Miaou is licensed under MIT and Synapse under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Miaou and Synapse with Docker?
Miaou: check the project docs for container support. Synapse: yes.