The Best X AlternativesTop Social Networks & Microblogs like X

X is described as 'Transforming the digital space by enabling public conversation, live audio and video streaming, while offering enhanced features through premium subscriptions' and is a leading Social Network in the social & communications category. There are more than 50 alternatives to X for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Android, iPhone, Self-Hosted and iPad apps. The best X alternative is Mastodon, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like X are Gab, Bluesky, diaspora* and Minds.

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Alternatives list

  1. Mastodon icon

    Mastodon

     629 likes

    Decentralized and federated social platform with no ads, focusing on personal interaction, and offering 500 character posts, custom emojis, content warnings, and robust moderation tools.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    Screenshot of the Mastodon web interface
     
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    48
    Mastodon vs X Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Goldmaster
    9

    Many people are moving to mastodon due to being centralised the Twitter basket with eggs is beginning to crack.

    venture2935
    Positive
    0

    More open than twitter. Don't need an account to view posts. No algorithm, federated, open source.

    artiman
    Positive
    0

    It's decentralized, open source and made by a German non-profit you can make your own Instance so you can't get censored, but you can get defederated by other Instances

    3 of 48 comments
    • Mastodon is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Mastodon is Decentralized, Privacy focused and LightweightX is not according to our users
  2. Gab icon

    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.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    Gab screenshot 1
     
    |
    35
    Warning

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

    Gab vs X Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    RemovedUser
    5

    Gab caters more to an alt-right audience, and in no way values the speech of its opponents.

    Top Negative Comment
    altenativeto
    12

    It's dominated by far-right racists from the USA. No sufficient Moderation

    Sam Lander
    Positive
    -2

    Gab was built off Mastadon. But the main servers from the people who started Mastadon "censored" Gab because they disagreed with some of the political content.

    So it is more likely that with Gab, you will not be censored for voicing opinions some people disagree with than on most Mastadon servers.

    3 of 35 comments
    • Gab is Freemium and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Gab is Privacy focused and DecentralizedX is not according to our users
  4. Bluesky icon

    Bluesky

     124 likes

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    Bluesky screenshot 1
     
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    4
    Bluesky vs X Comments
    Ola Johansson
    Positive
    4

    Similar and decentralized, and now no invite needed.

    lounes-tb
    Positive
    1

    It's created by members of the original twitter team. It is what twitter tried to be before Musk ruined it: A humanitarian place of positivity and empathy. If you want a safe place with a community full of artists and people who genuinely care, go to Bluesky. If mockery, viciously thrown slurs and deception are more your thing, go to x

    Joseph Leskey
    Positive
    0

    The best X alternative and arguably the spiritual successor of good old Twitter. It has all of the essential features of a microblogging platform, a great community, and a lovely look and feel. The content seems high quality, and the moderation seems to be on point. A social media platform that's actually pleasant, much like Twitter ought to have been.

    3 of 4 comments
    • Bluesky is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Bluesky is Decentralized and LightweightX is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Minds icon
    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* icon

    diaspora*

     450 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.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Ruby
    diaspora* screenshot 1
     
    |
    7
    diaspora* vs X Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Eden
    3

    I think Mastodon is the best alternative to Twitter. But, Diaspora is like a more complete Twitter, closer to what Facebook should be like.

    Top Negative Comment
    velnemed
    26

    Diaspora is a Facebook alternative, it's not Twitter-like

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    decentralized and easy to use

    3 of 7 comments
    • diaspora* is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • diaspora* is Decentralized and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  8. Minds icon

    Minds

     330 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.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Minds screenshot 1
     
    |
    16
    Minds vs X Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    MindMunition
    10

    I can do everything on Minds I can do on Twitter with no censorship!

    Top Negative Comment
    Camilo Rueda López
    1

    Got kicked out recently... no reason why, cannot login, password recovery does not work and won't be able to use the same @ if willing to sign up again because it is "already taken". This looks to me like if my account has been stolen in some way a couple of months ago but I am not able to get it back again since help is just not working. Too bad.

    givi o
    Negative
    1

    Minds is not an alternative.

    3 of 16 comments
    • Minds is Freemium and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Minds is Decentralized, Security-focused and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  9. Pleroma icon

    Pleroma

     71 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

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Pleroma screenshot 1
     
    |
    3
    Pleroma vs X Comments
    swapnilgnu
    Positive
    2

    A light-weight decentralized alternative for microblogging.

    clacke_
    Positive
    0

    Pleroma is part of the OStatus fediverse and the ActivityPub fediverse. Your service is only one out of many, and you can interact with users running SocialHome, Mastodon, Pleroma, PixelFed, PeerTube and other services, and like and comment on their content. If you don't like how your service is run, you can run your own and still be part of the same networks.

    ccesar
    Positive
    2

    Interface similar to Twitter, interacts with the Fediverse, better moderation tools than Mastodon.

    • Pleroma is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Pleroma is Decentralized, Lightweight and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  10. GNU social icon

    GNU social

     98 likes

    GNU social is a continuation of the StatusNet project. It is social communication software for both public and private communications. It is widely supported and has a large userbase.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    Screenshot of a GNU social website with Swedish localization. Source Wikipedia / FSF
     
    |
    1
    Discontinued

    Not actively developed/maintained anymore.

    GNU social vs X Comments
    godisinthewind
    Positive
    8

    It is very similar to twitter, but it is decentralized. In many instances the character count is higher which is nice.

    • GNU social is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • GNU social is Decentralized and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  11. Misskey icon

    Misskey

     34 likes

    A forever evolving, sophisticated microblogging platform.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Main Feed
     
    |
    2
    Misskey vs X Comments
    clacke_
    Positive
    1

    Misskey is part of the ActivityPub fediverse. Your service is only one out of many, and you can interact with users running SocialHome, Mastodon, Pleroma, PixelFed, PeerTube and other services, and like and comment on their content. If you don't like how your service is run, you can run your own and still be part of the same networks.

    MaterialFuture
    Positive
    1

    Misskey federated and allows you to host your own service via ActivityPub similar to Mastodon or Pleroma. What Misskey has that others don't is the fully customized dashboards for each instance and the ability to play games and integrate other APIs into your application. The userbase is mostly Japanese but there are more English speaking instances popping up as of late.

    • Misskey is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Misskey is Customizable, Decentralized and LightweightX is not according to our users
  12. Friendica icon

    Friendica

     141 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'.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Docker
    Timeline of the user meeting forum. Duepunto Zero theme.
     
    |
    2
    Friendica vs X Comments
    clacke_
    Positive
    3

    Friendica is part of the OStatus fediverse, the ActivityPub fediverse and the Diaspora Federation. Your service is only one out of many, and you can interact with users running Diaspora, SocialHome, Mastodon, Pleroma, PixelFed, PeerTube and other services, and like and comment on their content. If you don't like how your service is run, you can run your own and still be part of the same networks.

    skyling
    Negative
    5

    Designed after the Facebook-style model, not microblogging

    • Friendica is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Friendica is Decentralized and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  13. Hubzilla icon

    Hubzilla

     89 likes

    Hubzilla is a powerful platform for creating interconnected based websites featuring a decentralised identity, communications, and permissions framework built using common webserver technology. Hubzilla is very suitable for communities (of any size).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Hubzilla 11.0
     
  14. nostr icon

    nostr

     23 likes

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
     
  15. mu social icon

    mu social

     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
    mu social screenshot 1
     
12 of 97 X alternatives