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Conduit vs Synapse: catalog facts
Conduit	Synapse
Free Free and open source, funded by donations.	Free Free under the AGPL; Element sells commercial licenses, support subscriptions and ESS Pro.
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Single binary with an embedded database Low system requirements	Reference Matrix homeserver maintained by Element Works with any Matrix client
Still in beta and missing some smaller features Requires a server you administer	Running a homeserver takes server administration work No support from Element without a paid subscription
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: AGPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.