Element
Element 1.12.34 RC pops calls into picture-in-picture and lets modules shut off public rooms.
Comparison · Comms
Subsplash vs Synapse
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Subsplash and Synapse — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Subsplash vs Synapse: at a glance
| Feature | Subsplash | Synapse |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Comms | Comms |
| Velocity score | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | church-platform, workflow-automation, people-management, giving-management | matrix-protocol, homeserver, security-patches, spec-compliance |
| Last editorial update | 1d ago | 5h ago |
| Website | — | Visit → |
What is Subsplash?
Subsplash gives church staff notes on every person and every Workflow card.
Subsplash runs giving, media, people and workflow tools for churches. Late September brought notes on People profiles and Workflow cards, board search and hide-completed checklists in Workflows, gift totals and recurring-gift status in Giving, and timestamped share links for media. October added multi-select actions on People.
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.
Subsplash vs Synapse: editorial side-by-side
Subsplash
2.5COMMS
Subsplash gives church staff notes on every person and every Workflow card.
◆ Current state
Subsplash runs giving, media, people and workflow tools for churches. Late September brought notes on People profiles and Workflow cards, board search and hide-completed checklists in Workflows, gift totals and recurring-gift status in Giving, and timestamped share links for media. October added multi-select actions on People.
◆ Where it's heading
The platform is filling in the record-keeping that church staff did in other tools: notes, handoffs, follow-ups and giving totals now live next to the person or card. Workflows keeps getting features for busy boards and team handoffs. The releases are practical and incremental rather than new product lines.
◆ Prediction
Expect Workflows and People to keep converging, for example notes or tasks shared between a person and their cards. The entries say nothing new about the AI features mentioned earlier in the year.
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 Subsplash 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 Subsplash or Synapse.
Maddy
maddy's latest release is a security fix, five months after its last feature work.
Grain
Grain adds consent controls and rule-based privacy as its meeting data reaches more AI tools.
Converse.js
Converse.js 14.0.1 fixes OMEMO:2 group decryption broken by Chromium 153.
Element iOS
Element Classic now asks its own users to move to Element X, if their server opts in.
Brosix
Brosix follows its communities launch with a referral push and a private-room how-to.
See all Subsplash alternatives → · See all Synapse alternatives →
Recent activity from Subsplash and Synapse
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.2 patch release
- 4d agoSubsplashPeople Multi-Select
- 6d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.1: msgpack memory-exhaustion fix, status clearing
- 7d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.0: Matrix v1.16/v1.17 support goes stable
- 11d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.0rc3: Pillow 13 security bump
- 11d agoSynapseSynapse 1.163.2: Pillow critical security backport
- 12d agoSynapseSynapse 1.164.0rc2: certificate trust updates
- 1mo agoSubsplashGift totals and recurring status in Giving
- 1mo agoSubsplashNotes on People
- 1mo agoSubsplashShare links that start a video at the current timestamp
- 1mo agoSubsplashCard search and cleaner checklists in Workflows
- 1mo agoSubsplashNotes on Workflow Cards
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Subsplash and Synapse?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Synapse is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Subsplash better than Synapse?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Synapse is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Subsplash?
Top Subsplash alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Subsplash alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/subsplash 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.