Syphon vs ZNC
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?
| Feature | Syphon | ZNC |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Matrix & XMPP | Matrix & XMPP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Dart | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,061 | ★ 2,123 |
| First released | 2020 | 2004 |
| Replaces | WhatsApp, Discord | IRCCloud |
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 ZNC better?
Neither is universally better. ZNC 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 ZNC free and open-source?
Yes. Syphon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ZNC under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Syphon and ZNC with Docker?
Syphon: check the project docs for container support. ZNC: yes.