What server do I need to host a Matrix homeserver?

What is a Matrix homeserver, and what does it do?

A Matrix homeserver stores your users' accounts, rooms and messages, and federates with other homeservers so your users can talk to people elsewhere on the network. You run it under your own domain, for yourself, a family, a team or a community.

The server does several jobs at once:

• Accounts and rooms for every user on your domain.
• A database holding the room state and message history.
• Federation with other homeservers over the network.
• Media storage for files, avatars and their thumbnails.
• Optional voice and video, which needs a separate TURN server.

Running your own homeserver means your community's messages and accounts live on a machine you control, under a domain you chose. The reference implementation is Synapse; Conduit is a lighter one. Both run on the Linux systems we install.

What are Synapse's server requirements?

Synapse, maintained by Element, states its requirements in its own installation docs, read today.

• System: a POSIX-compliant system, tested on Linux and macOS, with Python 3.10 or later, up to 3.13.
• Memory: at least 1 GB of free RAM to join large public rooms like #matrix:matrix.org. Busy servers and large rooms need more.
• Database: PostgreSQL. The docs say almost all installations should use it, and that SQLite should not be used on a production server.
• Debian packages: Matrix.org provides Debian and Ubuntu packages for the amd64 architecture.

Synapse runs in a single process by default. For larger instances its docs describe splitting work across worker processes, which need PostgreSQL and Redis. It also warns that the server name is chosen before install, because it cannot be changed later. Pick the Debian image at checkout; see the systems each berth offers.

Why does Synapse want PostgreSQL rather than SQLite?

Synapse's docs are blunt: almost all installations should opt for PostgreSQL, and SQLite should not be used on a production server. SQLite is fine only to try the software out.

The PostgreSQL page notes two practical points. The database can take 25% to 100% more disk space after porting from SQLite. For larger deployments it recommends tuning memory settings such as shared_buffers, effective_cache_size and work_mem, with values that depend on the host's free memory.

A whole machine means the homeserver and its PostgreSQL share all of the RAM and disk, with no neighbour competing for them. Nothing on the machine is shared: its processor, memory and disks serve only your workloads. Every berth has NVMe storage: 2 × 960 GB NVMe on the smallest.

What does federation need from the server?

Federation is how your homeserver reaches the rest of Matrix. The server-to-server specification, version v1.19, read today, sets out how other servers find yours.

• Default port. Other servers try port 8448 when no port is given.
• Delegation. A file at https://<your-domain>/.well-known/matrix/server with an m.server value, or a _matrix-fed._tcp SRV record, points federation at the right host and port.
• TLS. Federation runs over HTTPS, so the endpoint needs valid TLS certificates.

Synapse's own federation page says port 8448 is where other servers reach you, and that delegation lets you control where federation traffic is sent. Open port 8448, or delegate with a .well-known file, and give the endpoint a real certificate, or other homeservers will not talk to yours. A fixed domain, set before install, ties all of this together.

Do I need anything extra for calls and email?

Two optional pieces round out a homeserver.

• TURN for voice and video. Synapse's docs say you must configure a TURN server for reliable VoIP calls to route via your homeserver. coturn and eturnal are the documented choices. TURN needs a public IP and opens ports 3478 and 5349, plus a UDP relay range of 49152 to 65535 by default.
• Email. Synapse can send email for password resets, registration and notifications; without it, those are disabled. Its config example uses SMTP port 587 with force_tls, submitting to a mail provider.

Our network rule fits the mail case. Port 25 is closed for outgoing mail on every server, permanently, to keep spam off the network; ports 465 and 587 toward mail providers stay open. So Synapse's recommended port 587 to a mail provider works, while the spam-prone port 25 stays shut. Every berth has one dedicated IPv4 address, which TURN needs.

Is Conduit a lighter option than Synapse?

Yes. Conduit, written in Rust, aims to be an efficient homeserver that is easy to set up. Its documentation, read today, says it is in beta. You can run it on a small computer like a Raspberry Pi, for a family, friends or a company.

The Matrix.org ecosystem list, also read today, marks Synapse (Python) as stable and Conduit (Rust) as beta, alongside other stable Rust homeservers. It names no single recommended one.

Choose Synapse for the reference feature set, or a lighter Rust homeserver for a small, low-overhead deployment. Either way a whole machine leaves room to grow. The smallest berth carries 64 GB DDR4 ECC and 8 cores / 16 threads.

Where should a homeserver sit, and what does it cost?

Place it near your community, in a jurisdiction you have checked. Reykjavik (Iceland), Zurich (Switzerland), Bucharest (Romania) and Amsterdam (Netherlands): every berth in every port of call, at one price. The four, compared for an operator, are on the best country for hosting a server, and the retention rules on which European countries still have data retention laws.

Ravenquay compared 18 crypto-paid hosts that ask no ID at signup on 30 October 2026: 11 sold an unmetered dedicated server. No KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents, no card and no phone number, ever. Service is not available to residents or companies of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, China, Yemen or Western Sahara, nor in the occupied regions of Ukraine.