this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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Selfhosted

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Matrix hosting (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 21 hours ago by bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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Hey y'all, this actually isn't self hosting related, but who have you had good luck with for paid matrix hosting?

Right now, I do enough tinkering with everything that I would be willing to just pay to host a matrix server for my friends.

Unless it really is easy enough to do it on a synology nas for text/voice/screen share...but do I need to pay for a domain still?

We are (like everyone) on matrix.org now but realize we need to move eventually.

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[–] stratself 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (2 children)

We are (like everyone) on matrix.org now but realize we need to move eventually.

Consider moving to another open registration server too. Find one that supports Element Call

do I need to pay for a domain still?

If you're gonna selfhost, you should purchase a domain for proper federation with the wider network. IP-only servers are possible, but they are generally banned in most rooms due to antispam. Same with dynamic DNS domains

Unless it really is easy enough to do it on a synology nas for text/voice/screen share...

You'll need to integrate a Matrix homeserver (I recommend Continuwuity.org, much lighter than Synapse) and Livekit (the software that handle Element Calls). It's not particularly easy so maybe consider managed hosting beforehand, too

[–] dudesss@lemmy.ca 1 points 28 minutes ago

If you're Canadian, you can get free and cheap .ca domains https://www.cira.ca/en/why-choose-ca/

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

The issue with moving all the time is my friends will be annoyed. Can we move without making new accounts and rooms again? They'll ask why are we changing it again...you know how it is

[–] stratself 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The easy solution is to choose someone other than matrix.org, get everyone over there, and hope it works out in the long run

The technical answer is that if you own your domain name you can migrate from a managed solution to a selfhosted one with some caveats. If you can't migrate the database, then some data will be lost (namely, unfederated rooms and local-only data) and your friends will likely need to do a few things (reset their passwords, and export/reimport their encryption keys). Unfortunately there are no database migrator between different server software right now

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

I see.

The problem is now my friends will be stuck on matrix.org 😬

[–] Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyz 2 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 22 minutes ago)

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
DNS Domain Name Service/System
IP Internet Protocol
VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)

3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 12 acronyms.

[Thread #115 for this comm, first seen 24th Feb 2026, 11:21] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 5 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

This guy does a lot of Synology deploys:

https://mariushosting.com/how-to-install-synapse-on-your-synology-nas/

Might be something to look over.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I've been seeing synapse everywhere but don't know what it does. I need to read up

[–] UnpledgedCatnapTipper@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

Synapse is the Matrix homeserver, it handles everything except for the voice/video call features.

Edit: it doesn't handle the web client either, but technically you don't need that for a working setup.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Hmm, well voice is one of the most important to us..

[–] UnpledgedCatnapTipper@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 15 hours ago

There's an additional component, and how you deploy it depends on the method you're deploying things. If you do the Element Server Suite (https://github.com/element-hq/ess-helm) via their instructions, it includes the voice/video component and web client. If you deploy your homeserver in a different way, you should be able to find instructions for Element Call.

[–] UnpledgedCatnapTipper@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 21 hours ago

You will need a domain, but they can be had for a couple $ per year.

As for hosting on synology, I don't know how difficult it is. I used the Element Server Suite on a Debian VM, and aside from some minor issues getting email and automatic room joining working it was pretty simple following their guides.

[–] SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I'm using etke.cc in Germany. It's a relatively easy setup and the hosting is matrix dedicated. Payment is a bit odd through ko-fi but otherwise it has been solid. They don't have element calling fully enabled, it's a bit conservative. Admin is easy and staff are responsive.

[–] maj@piefed.social 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Also using etke.cc. I bought my own vps and then gave them access and they set everything up. It was a lot cheaper this way. My VPS is 4 cores with 8gb of ram but 4 cores and 4gb of ram would be enough. I also got the RTC add-on for $5 which enabled calls. Everything is working really well and I would recommend doing it this way.

[–] Eldaroth@lemmy.world 1 points 56 minutes ago

If you have your own VPS anyway, there is the Matrix Ansible Playbook which makes the setup with docker containers very easy. But I also get the sentiment that you don't want to tinker around all the time and just want stuff to work.

Kudos to you for using Matrix in the first place, I hope you can bring a lot of your friends and family to switch over to it. So far this has been the biggest hurdle on my journey 😅