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Synapse vs ejabberd: catalog facts
Synapse	ejabberd
Free Free under the AGPL; Element sells commercial licenses, support subscriptions and ESS Pro.	Free Free and open source.
Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Reference Matrix homeserver maintained by Element Works with any Matrix client	XMPP, MQTT and SIP in one server Over 400 XMPP extensions supported
Running a homeserver takes server administration work No support from Element without a paid subscription	More complex than servers built for small groups Erlang-based stack can be unfamiliar to admins
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: AGPL-3.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No 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 September 23, 2026

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