SimpleX Chat vs Syphon

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?
FeatureSimpleX ChatSyphon
CategoryChat & CommunicationMatrix & XMPP
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageHaskellDart
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcebinary, source
GitHub stars★ 19,211★ 1,061
First released20212020
ReplacesSignal, WhatsApp, TelegramWhatsApp, Discord

Why pick each one

Choose SimpleX Chat if…

  • Best-in-class metadata privacy
  • Run your own relays
SimpleX Chat details

Choose Syphon if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Dart
Syphon details

Frequently asked questions

Is SimpleX Chat or Syphon better?

Neither is universally better. SimpleX Chat has the larger community, while Syphon is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are SimpleX Chat and Syphon free and open-source?

Yes. SimpleX Chat is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Syphon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run SimpleX Chat and Syphon with Docker?

SimpleX Chat: yes. Syphon: check the project docs for container support.

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