Syphon vs Openfire
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?
Syphon
Privacy-focused Matrix client built with Flutter
VS
Openfire
Real-time collaboration XMPP server written in Java
| Feature | Syphon | Openfire |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dart | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,061 | ★ 3,052 |
| First released | 2020 | 2004 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Discord | Slack, Microsoft Teams |
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 Syphon or Openfire better?
Neither is universally better. Openfire 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 Syphon and Openfire free and open-source?
Yes. Syphon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Openfire under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Syphon and Openfire with Docker?
Syphon: check the project docs for container support. Openfire: yes.