Synapse vs Syphon
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?
Synapse
Reference homeserver for the Matrix network
VS
Syphon
Privacy-focused Matrix client built with Flutter
| Feature | Synapse | Syphon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Dart |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,503 | ★ 1,061 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Slack, Discord, WhatsApp | WhatsApp, Discord |
Why pick each one
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Synapse or Syphon better?
Neither is universally better. Synapse 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 Synapse and Syphon free and open-source?
Yes. Synapse is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Syphon under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Synapse and Syphon with Docker?
Synapse: yes. Syphon: check the project docs for container support.