Mastodon

Free, open-source decentralized social media platform

★★★★★ 4.6/5 from 12 reviews

Social & Community Social Networking Safety and Privacy platforms

What is Mastodon?

Social networking that's not for sale: Your home feed should be filled with what matters to you most, not what a corporation thinks you should see. Radically different social media, back in the hands of the people.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Alternative to Twitter
Decentralized platform
Community driven
No recommendation algorithms
Open source
ActivityPub support
Ad-free
High signal to noise ratio
Independent servers
Privacy focused

Cons

Cluttered UI
Complex settings
False accusations of policy violations
Lack of full-text search
Requires user effort to build follow graph

Tool Details

Categories	Social & Community, Social Networking, Safety and Privacy platforms
Website	joinmastodon.org
Became Popular	October 6, 2016
Platforms	Web · iOS · Android
Social	LinkedIn · GitHub

Recent Reviews (9)

Rakibul Apr 12, 2025

★★★★★

Mastodon is a decentralized social media platform that lets you share thoughts, follow people, and build communities—without algorithms controlling your feed. It’s open-source, ad-free, and split into independent servers (called instances), giving you full control over your experience. Think of it as social media reimagined for freedom, privacy, and real human connection.

Open source Privacy focused Decentralized platform Ad-free Community driven No recommendation algorithms Independent servers

Tyler Dec 2, 2024

★★★★★

The other of the two networks I built on, Mastodon meets all of my personal ideals in an open source web project. I'm constantly inspired by the team and community.

Robert Jun 25, 2024

★★★★★

A new twitter, but for geeks mostly

Alternative to Twitter

Shane Feb 14, 2023

★★★★★

If you can take the time to build your follow graph, Mastodon provides the highest signal to nose ratio I’ve personally experienced in recent memory. The lack of recommendation algorithm defaults and the openness of the platform (allowing for a proliferation of clients) make Mastodon stand out from the exodus of Twitter DAU.

Alternative to Twitter No recommendation algorithms High signal to noise ratio Requires user effort to build follow graph

N Apr 14, 2024

★★★★☆

The features are amazing, but the UI is too cluttered. A clean UI would enhance it significantly. The settings can be headache-inducing; they are not user-friendly.

Cluttered UI Complex settings

𝐦

𝐦𝐫𝐯𝐧 Dec 24, 2022

★★★★☆

It would be great to have full-text search aka “elastic search” but I get why it's not available on all instances.

Lack of full-text search

Krystal Nov 8, 2023

★★☆☆☆

Mastodon isn't bad. But boy is it a mess to use.

Cluttered UI

Andy Dec 9, 2023

★★★★★

The future of social networking!

Seb Dec 8, 2023

★★★★★

the future of social networking

Frequently Asked Questions about Mastodon

When did Mastodon become popular?

Mastodon became popular around October 6, 2016.

What are the main advantages of using Mastodon?

The top advantages of Mastodon include: alternative to Twitter, decentralized platform, community driven, no recommendation algorithms, open source.

What are the disadvantages of Mastodon?

Some reported disadvantages of Mastodon include: cluttered UI, complex settings, false accusations of policy violations, lack of full-text search, requires user effort to build follow graph.

What is Mastodon's overall user rating?

Mastodon has an overall rating of 4.6/5 based on 12 user reviews.

Is Mastodon available on mobile devices?

Yes, Mastodon is available on iOS (App Store) & Android (Google Play).

What type of tool is Mastodon?

Mastodon belongs to the following categories: Social & Community, Social Networking, Safety and Privacy platforms.