Mastodon Alternatives

Mastodon is described as 'Federated and open-source social network with no ads, 500-character limit, custom emojis, and content warnings, emphasizing privacy and personal interaction' and is a leading Social Network in the social & communications category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Mastodon for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Android, iPhone, Self-Hosted and iPad apps. The best Mastodon alternative is diaspora*, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Mastodon are Pleroma, Pixelfed, Bluesky and X.

filter to find the best alternatives

Mastodon alternatives are mainly Social Networks, but if you're looking for Microblogs or Photo Sharing Apps you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Mastodon.
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Alternatives list

  1. mu social icon
     14 likes

    Open source European social platform offering privacy by design, no ads or tracking, topic and region custom feeds, plural verification, media sharing, event RSVP, edit history, friendly communities, regular updates, and Bluesky network compatibility.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  2. Mbin icon
     16 likes

    Mbin: a federated content aggregator, voting, discussion and microblogging platform (By the community, for the community).

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
     
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    1
    Mbin vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Positive
    0

    It integrates with mastodon and lemmy as well, which makes it a good 2-in-1

    • Mbin is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
  3. nostr icon
     23 likes

    The simplest open protocol that is able to create a censorship-resistant global "social" network once and for all.

    55 nostr alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
     
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    1
    nostr vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Positive
    0

    This is more of a "neutral" alternative, since nostr is a complete alternative to the fediverse as a whole. You can microblog in it and configure a bridge with mastodon servers.

    • nostr is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
  4. GoToSocial icon
     14 likes

    GoToSocial is an ActivityPub social network server, written in Golang.

    48 GoToSocial alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Kubernetes
    • YunoHost
     
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    2
    GoToSocial vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Positive
    1

    This only offers the backend, you'll need something like Elk for people to be able to access via web browsers

    remram44
    Positive
    0

    Light-weight, easy to install

    • GoToSocial is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
  5. Sharkey icon
     10 likes

    Sharkey is a Misskey fork following upstream changes when possible, with added features. Like any other ActivityPub software Sharkey can interface with the thousands of servers that form the fediverse, an interconnected social network, working in tandem with software such as...

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
     
  6. VK icon
     168 likes

    VK (originally VKontakte) is a largest social network service from Europe. Available in many languages and highly popular particularly among Russian-speaking users around the world, especially in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Belarus, and Israel.

    103 VK alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • Windows Phone
    • Kindle Fire
     
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    1
    VK vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Negative
    0

    This is essentially just another facebook

    • VK is Free and ProprietaryMastodon is Free and Open Source
  7. Facebook icon
     1003 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.

    161 Facebook alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Tor
    • KaiOS
     
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    4
    Facebook vs Mastodon Comments
    John Fastman
    Negative
    37

    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.

    Guest
    Negative
    9

    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.

    Mano
    Negative
    0

    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
  8. SpaceHey icon
     18 likes

    SpaceHey is a friendly online community for you and your friends that lets you communicate with each other, share content and discover new content and people.

    93 SpaceHey alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  9. Akkoma icon
     11 likes

    This is a fork of Pleroma, which is a microblogging server software that can federate (= exchange messages with) other servers that support ActivityPub. What that means is that you can host a server for yourself or your friends and stay in control of your online identity, but...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
     
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    1
    Akkoma vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Positive
    0

    Being a fork of Pleroma, this also works as a microblog like Twitter or BlueSky and can federate with any Mastodon server.

    • Akkoma is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
  10. Gridsky icon
     9 likes

    Gridsky brings the visual charm of Instagram to Bluesky, offering a delightful client with a grid-based interface and easy scrolling. Focused on photo content, Gridsky creates a minimal, immersive experience with innovative ways to interact with feeds and profiles. Accessible online for seamless photo sharing.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
     
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    1
    Gridsky vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Negative
    0

    Gridsky is an alternative frontend for Bluesky only

    • Gridsky is Free and ProprietaryMastodon is Free and Open Source
  11. Elk.zone icon
     20 likes

    A nimble Mastodon web client.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
     
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    1
    Elk.zone vs Mastodon Comments
    Mano
    Negative
    0

    This only offers a web page alternative to mastodon, the server needs to have mastodon or something else running on the backend

    • Elk.zone is Free and Open SourceMastodon is also Free and Open Source
    • Elk.zone is a Mastodon Client Mastodon is a Social Network
  12. Movim icon
     56 likes

    Decentralized social and blog platform based on XMPP, enabling self-hosting, cross-network chat, video calls, and group collaboration. Users control and migrate their data, communicate across various networks, and access services from any node while preserving privacy and open-source principles.

    115 Movim alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
     
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