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Comparison · Comms
Misskey vs Synapse
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Misskey and Synapse — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hosted
Misskey vs Synapse: at a glance
What is Misskey?
Misskey moves to Sentry v11 and keeps shipping security fixes in its monthly releases.
Misskey, the ActivityPub social server, shipped 2026.10.0 with a security fix and an HTTP Signatures fix, then 2026.10.1, which moves to Sentry SDK v11 and replaces sendDefaultPii with a dataCollection setting. The 2026.10.2 alpha improves how quote posts from Mastodon and other software display and makes the server stop safely on a bad job-queue config.
What is Synapse?
Synapse 1.164 advertises Matrix v1.16 and v1.17 amid a run of dependency security patches
Synapse keeps its two-to-three-week cycle of candidates and stables. 1.164.0 went stable on 27 October with support for Matrix v1.16 and v1.17 and a dedicated endpoint for scheduling delayed events (MSC4140). The surrounding releases are security dependency bumps: certifi, a rustls-webpki update that distrusts the compromised eMudhra intermediate CAs, Pillow 13.0.0 for critical image-handling flaws, and msgpack against memory exhaustion on the public room list.
Misskey vs Synapse: editorial side-by-side
Misskey
5.0COMMS
Misskey moves to Sentry v11 and keeps shipping security fixes in its monthly releases.
◆ Current state
Misskey, the ActivityPub social server, shipped 2026.10.0 with a security fix and an HTTP Signatures fix, then 2026.10.1, which moves to Sentry SDK v11 and replaces sendDefaultPii with a dataCollection setting. The 2026.10.2 alpha improves how quote posts from Mastodon and other software display and makes the server stop safely on a bad job-queue config.
◆ Where it's heading
Each version goes through alpha and beta tags before stable, and security fixes appear in most stable releases since 2026.9.0. Federation polish, such as how other servers' quotes and signatures are handled, is the main user-facing thread.
◆ Prediction
Expect 2026.10.2 stable soon after its alpha, carrying the quote display and deck fixes, with 2026.11 alphas following on the monthly cadence.
Synapse
5.0COMMS
Synapse 1.164 advertises Matrix v1.16 and v1.17 amid a run of dependency security patches
◆ Current state
Synapse keeps its two-to-three-week cycle of candidates and stables. 1.164.0 went stable on 27 October with support for Matrix v1.16 and v1.17 and a dedicated endpoint for scheduling delayed events (MSC4140). The surrounding releases are security dependency bumps: certifi, a rustls-webpki update that distrusts the compromised eMudhra intermediate CAs, Pillow 13.0.0 for critical image-handling flaws, and msgpack against memory exhaustion on the public room list.
◆ Where it's heading
The homeserver tracks the spec closely, stabilising MSCs as they land in Matrix releases, while backporting each security bump to the previous stable line. Sticky Events and User Status work suggest continued alignment with newer client features.
◆ Prediction
1.165 release candidates should follow within about two weeks, likely with further MSC stabilisations.
Alternatives to Misskey and Synapse
Other Comms products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Misskey or Synapse.
Apprise
Apprise 2 is out: notify() returns a result object, and 2.1 takes the catalog to 170 services.
RSS.com
RSS.com's changelog is back after ten months, with listener voicemail for podcasts.
mailcow
mailcow's monthly releases are mostly upstream security updates with small UI work
The Lounge
The Lounge ships steadily but publishes release notes that say nothing.
Mailu
Mailu's October: patched PHP for webmail, and a resolver that reports DNS failures
See all Misskey alternatives → · See all Synapse alternatives →
Recent activity from Misskey and Synapse
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoMisskey2026.10.2 alpha improves quotes from Mastodon
- 4d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.1: msgpack memory-exhaustion fix, status clearing
- 6d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.0: Matrix v1.16/v1.17 support goes stable
- 9d agoMisskeyMisskey 2026.10.1 changes requirements and Sentry config
- 9d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.0rc3: Pillow 13 security bump
- 9d agoSynapseSynapse 1.163.2: Pillow critical security backport
- 10d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.0rc2: certificate trust updates
- 10d agoSynapseSynapse 1.163.1: eMudhra CA distrust and certifi update
- 13d agoMisskeyMisskey 2026.10.1 alpha.1 pre-release
- 20d agoMisskeyMisskey 2026.10.1 alpha.0 moves to Sentry SDK v11
- 1mo agoMisskeyMisskey 2026.10.0: security and HTTP Signatures fixes
- 1mo agoMisskey2026.9.2 alpha fixes HTTP Signatures query strings
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Misskey and Synapse?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Comms. Misskey and Synapse are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Misskey better than Synapse?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Misskey and Synapse are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Misskey?
Top Misskey alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Misskey alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/misskey for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Synapse?
Top Synapse alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Synapse alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/synapse for the full list with editorial commentary on each.