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Synapse vs Databag: catalog facts
Synapse	Databag
Free Free under the AGPL; Element sells commercial licenses, support subscriptions and ESS Pro.	Free Free and open source under the Apache-2.0 licence.
Self-hosted	Android, Web, Self-hosted
Reference Matrix homeserver maintained by Element Works with any Matrix client	Low hosting resource use Federation between separate server nodes
Running a homeserver takes server administration work No support from Element without a paid subscription	Needs your own server to run Smaller user base than mainstream messengers
Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Web application, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: AGPL-3.0	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Account 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 October 2, 2026

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