ejabberdvsMatrix Synapse
Two self-hosted Chat projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| ejabberd | Matrix Synapse | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 71/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 110 in Chat | #7 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 6 751 | 4 787 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +10 | +98 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 21 |
| Latest release | 26.09 · 29 Sept 2026 | v1.165.0 · 10 Nov 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Erlang | Python |
Which one should you pick?
ejabberd scores 72/100 against 71/100 for Matrix Synapse, so it is the safer default.
Matrix Synapse ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for ejabberd.
Matrix Synapse is growing faster right now (+98 stars in 30 days).
Key differences
- License: ejabberd is GPL-2.0, Matrix Synapse is AGPL-3.0.
- Language: ejabberd is written mainly in Erlang, Matrix Synapse in Python.
- Platforms only ejabberd lists: Homebrew, Kubernetes, Windows.
- Platforms only Matrix Synapse lists: Debian, Fedora, FreeBSD, Linux and 3 more.
- Features only ejabberd lists: CLI Administration (ejabberdctl), Flexible Storage Backends, Horizontal Clustering, Live Code Upgrades and 11 more.
- Features only Matrix Synapse lists: Admin API, Application services, Email notifications, Horizontal scaling with workers and 11 more.
ejabberd details →Matrix Synapse details →All Chat projects →
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