Mastodon AlternativesTop Social Networks & Microblogs like Mastodon

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   Pixelfed

    293 likes

   Federated image-sharing platform with privacy, safety, no tracking or ads, algorithm-free chronological timelines, open-source code, comprehensive moderation, supports self-hosting, ActivityPub protocol, hashtag discovery, responsive mobile access, and ethical data control.

   143 Pixelfed alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Social Network
   • Photo Sharing

   Origin

   • Canada

   Platforms

   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • iPad
   • Self-Hosted
   • F-Droid
   • Cloudron

   • Canada

   

   

   

   +7

   

   More about Pixelfed  

   

   Good alternative?Is Pixelfed a good alternative to Mastodon?

    

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   3comments

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   Pixelfed vs Mastodon Comments

   Negative comment by social-remodeler · Oct 2, 2024

   Pixelfed is a good combination and addition to Mastodon as both have different purposes.

   Pixelfed replaces Instagram and Tumblr in the fediverse.

   Positive comment by Kelson V · Nov 19, 2025

   If Mastodon is like Twitter, Pux3lfed is like Instagram. Depending on how you want to use your social media, they can be complementary

   Negative comment by Guest · Dec 26, 2022

   Pixelfed is an alternative to Tumblr or Instagram, not to a microblogging platform like Mastodon

   3 of 3 comments

   

   

   • Pixelfed is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
   • Pixelfed is Security-focusedMastodon is not according to our users
2. 

   

   Bluesky

    127 likes

   An open social network that gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience.

   90 Bluesky alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (MIT)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Social Network
   • Microblog

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • Self-Hosted
   • Cloudron
   • OpenAPK

   • United States

   

   

   

   +1

   

   More about Bluesky  

   

   Good alternative?Is Bluesky a good alternative to Mastodon?

    

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   2comments

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   Bluesky vs Mastodon Comments

   Positive comment by R C · Dec 11, 2024

   Lot of big name power users and a massive community make Blue Sky good. Blue Sky has a lot of really cool features like "Feed" and "Labels" that will only continue to grow.

   Negative comment by hfVgd_ · Nov 17, 2024

   While both are open source and decentralized, Bluesky promotes algorithmic timelines and is currently only compatible with the Bluesky website and client apps.

   Mastodon instances are decentralized, allowing communication between multiple social networking services which are part of the Fediverse.

   2 of 2 comments

   

   

   • Bluesky is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
4. 

   

   X

    1115 likes

   Experience global interaction with public conversations, real-time news updates, live audio Spaces, streaming video, exclusive content monetization, and niche Communities.

   102 X alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Proprietary

   Application typeApplication types

   • Social Network
   • Microblog

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad
   • Kindle Fire
   • Apple TV

   • United States

   

   

   

   +5

   

   More about X  

   

   Good alternative?Is X a good alternative to Mastodon?

    

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   4comments

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   X vs Mastodon Comments

   Negative comment by RemovedUser · May 5, 2019

   Twitter is a centralized, propertiary service, while Mastodon is free software

   Negative comment by Mano · Jan 18, 2025

   Ever since it was bought by Elon Musk, twitter has been his playground. Bots run rampant, moderation is whatever he wants it to be.

   Mastodon's federation ensures you can always migrate to a different instance if a similar situation happens. Not only that, you can use Misskey, Pleroma or GotoSocial instances too

   Negative comment by social-remodeler · Oct 2, 2024

   Both are microblogging tools.

   The other way round makes sense.

   Mastodon is a decentralized, free and open source Server and App system in the Fediverse and supports ActivityPub whereas X is freemium, propieritary and does not support fediverse.

   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • X is Freemium and ProprietaryMastodon is Free and Open Source
   • X is MinimalisticMastodon is not according to our users
5. Ad

   

   

   Minds

   An open-source platform for decentralized social networking. Users can monetize posts through ads or monthly support, engaging in various features such as Blogs, Videos, and secure private chats. Minds supports free speech and fa...

   https://www.minds.com

   Learn More
6. 

   

   diaspora*

    451 likes

   Diaspora is a federated social networking service, designed to be a more privacy-aware alternative to Facebook . Share what you want, with whom you want.

   130 diaspora* alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Social Network
   • Microblog

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Online
   • BSD
   • Self-Hosted
   • Ruby

   • United States

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about diaspora*  

   

   Good alternative?Is diaspora* a good alternative to Mastodon?

    

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   diaspora* vs Mastodon Comments

   Positive comment by John Fastman · Apr 16, 2017

   Diaspora is more like a Facebook alternative; Mastodon is a Twitter alternative. Both are open-source and non-profit and aren't based on exploiting people's privacy for money-making/selling you out to adverisers or passing on everything about you (contacts, opinions, likes, location, interests...) to government authorities. Facebook does do this.

   Negative comment by social-remodeler · Oct 2, 2024

   Mastodon is a X-like microblogging Server and App, whereas Diaspora is a Facebook-like macroblogging Server and App.

   2 of 2 comments

   

   

   • diaspora* is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
7. 

   

   Tumblr

    471 likes

   Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your people.

   126 Tumblr alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Proprietary

   Application typeApplication types

   • Blog Publishing
   • Social Network

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad

   • United States

   

   

   

   More about Tumblr  

   

   Good alternative?Is Tumblr a good alternative to Mastodon?

    

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   1comment

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   Tumblr vs Mastodon Comments

   Negative comment by Mano · Jan 14, 2025

   Proprietary microblogging platform, currently owned by Automattic. You can't run your own server and all you post on tumblr stays there.

   Notable for doing a NSFW content purge in 2018, being sold for 3 million USD in 2019 and still not being profitable to the current owner, who claims it drains 30 million dollars per year.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Tumblr is Free and ProprietaryMastodon is Free and Open Source
   • Tumblr is a Blog Publishing Mastodon is a Social Network
9. 

   

   Facebook

    1005 likes

   A comprehensive social network for connecting with friends and family, sharing photos, videos, and updates, organizing events, forming groups, and accessing business pages. Offers messaging, live streaming, privacy settings, and a marketplace on both web and mobile platforms.

   167 Facebook alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Proprietary

   Application type

   • Social Network

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad
   • Tor
   • KaiOS

   • United States

   

   

   More about Facebook  

   

   Good alternative?Is Facebook a good alternative to Mastodon?

    

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   4comments

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   Facebook vs Mastodon Comments

   Negative comment by John Fastman · Apr 16, 2017

   Facebook makes money by using people's private information for their profit. Your privacy - everyone you know, message, what you like and discuss - is the basis of their money-making. You are the product. Additionally, FB likes can be used to guess with high accuracy people's political preferences. Facebook have also experimented with manipulating peoples' emotions using the news feed. Mastodon does NONE of this; it's free, non-profit and open source.

   Negative comment by Guest · Jul 22, 2020

   Mastodon: Open-source, decentralized/federated, can even be done p2p... Facebook: closed-source/proprietary, centralized, owned and operated by a company that gets raging hard-ons whenever there's a chance for them to molest your privacy and sell your data to anyone from shops to downright evil governments... If these two have any similarity beyond that they're both on the internet, then I'm guessing a submarine and a jetfighter are also similar.

   Negative comment by Mano · Jan 14, 2025

   Facebook pushes whatever content Mark Zuckerberg desires. It's designed to spy on the users and sell ads.

   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • Facebook is Free and ProprietaryMastodon is Free and Open Source
10. 

    

    Minds

     331 likes

    An open-source platform for decentralized social networking. Users can monetize posts through ads or monthly support, engaging in various features such as Blogs, Videos, and secure private chats. Minds supports free speech and facilitates sharing across networks and exploring global trends.

    133 Minds alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application typeApplication types

    • Social Network
    • Microblog

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    • United States

    

    

    

    +8

    

    More about Minds  

    

    Good alternative?Is Minds a good alternative to Mastodon?

     

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    2comments

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    Minds vs Mastodon Comments

    Positive comment by AnisBarghouthi · May 21, 2021

    Minds is a blockchain-based mix of social-media and micro-blogging site and recently it added a Matrix client (a fork of Element) with E2E encryption.

    Positive comment by Guest · Jan 10, 2023

    Due to educational gamification of its networks and applications.

    2 of 2 comments

    

    

    • Minds is Freemium and Open SourceMastodon is Free and Open Source
    • Minds is Security-focusedMastodon is not according to our users
11. 

    

    Pleroma

     72 likes

    Pleroma is a free, federated social networking server built on open protocols. It is compatible with GNU Social, Mastodon, and many other ActivityPub and OStatus implementations.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Social Network
    • Microblog

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted

    

    

    

    More about Pleroma  

    

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    2comments

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    Pleroma vs Mastodon Comments

    Positive comment by social-remodeler · Oct 2, 2024

    Mastodon and Pleroma are both microblogging Server and Apps, so task and purpose is the same on the Fediverse.

    Any fediverse software is more additional than comparable to Mastodon, so Pleroma is the currently the only alternative to Mastodon.

    You should compare both as you don't need both at the same time.

    Positive comment by Guest · Jan 10, 2023

    It supports other open source alternatives to Mastodon such as OStatus

    2 of 2 comments

    

    

    • Pleroma is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
12. 

    

    Friendica

     143 likes

    Friendica is a distributed social network application. Which allow users to connect with others via their own Friendica server, but may also fully integrate contacts from other platforms including Twitter, diaspora*, Pump.io and StatusNet into their 'newsfeed'.

    125 Friendica alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Social Network
    • Microblog

    Origin

    • Australia

    Platforms

    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Docker

    • Australia

    

    

    

    +3

    

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13. 

    

    Misskey

     35 likes

    A forever evolving, sophisticated microblogging platform.

    66 Misskey alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Social Network
    • Microblog

    Origin

    • Japan

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted

    • Japan

    

    

    

    +9

    

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    Misskey vs Mastodon Comments

    Positive comment by Mano · Jan 14, 2025

    This is one of the better alternatives to Mastodon if you intend to have a personal or public server. Visitors can easily check the instances a server is federating with. It has a better looking web interface, though on big servers, that can grind your browser to halt for a number of seconds.

    It also allows users to react to posts with custom emojis

    1 of 1 comments

    

    

    • Misskey is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
    • Misskey is CustomizableMastodon is not according to our users
14. 

    

    Gab

     258 likes

    Gab Social is an open source and fully decentralized social network powered by the Gab Platform. It is the new social network of Gab.com. This change was made to further Gab's commitment to its users trust and privacy online.

    119 Gab alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application typeApplication types

    • Social Network
    • Microblog

    Origin

    • United States

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android

    • United States

    

    

    

    +3

    

    More about Gab  

    

    Good alternative?Is Gab a good alternative to Mastodon?

     

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    Warning

    Gab is less moderated compared to other social networks and could be offensive to some people

    Gab vs Mastodon Comments

    Negative comment by social-remodeler · Oct 2, 2024

    As long as Gab is a freemium product it is no alternative to Mastodon which is a free and open source Server and App.

    Positive comment by Kedman · Jul 7, 2021

    Gab is godless compare to other social network

    Positive comment by Guest · Nov 6, 2020

    Gab can connect to the rest of the Mastodon network anyway! It's like Twitter but even easier to use and user-friendly. You don't need an account to look at stuff. And of course, free speech.

    3 of 3 comments

    

    

    • Gab is Freemium and Open SourceMastodon is Free and Open Source
15. 

    

    Phanpy

     25 likes

    A minimalistic opinionated Mastodon web client.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Mastodon Client
    • Microblog

    Origin

    • Malaysia

    Platforms

    • Online

    • Malaysia

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about Phanpy  

    

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    1comment

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    Phanpy vs Mastodon Comments

    Positive comment by Kelson V · Nov 19, 2025

    Phanpy is an alternative to the Mastodon app, not to the network or server software. It runs well on both desktop and mobile, and has some really helpful features like a catch-up mode and clustering boosts together to emphasize what people are actually posting themselves.

    1 of 1 comments

    

    

    • Phanpy is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
    • Phanpy is a Mastodon Client Mastodon is a Social Network