Instead of Bluesky, try one of these 12.
Every alternative is lined up against Bluesky on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Bluesky sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
Likes
BlueskyWhat you have now
Decentralised social network with a custom feed.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
Real-time public conversation and news.
PriceFree
premium $8/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Mastodon#2
Decentralised microblogging across federated servers.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Tumblr#3
Blogging social platform for sharing interests, art, and media.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Android · iOS
LikesVisit ↗
Privacy-friendly federated social network you can self-host.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
LikesVisit ↗
Pixelfed#5
Decentralised, ad-free photo sharing.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Minds#6
Open-source social network that pays creators for content.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Android · iOS
LikesVisit ↗
Gab#7
Free-speech social network running decentralized open-source software.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Pleroma#8
Lightweight federated microblogging server on open protocols.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
LikesVisit ↗
Misskey#9
Customizable federated microblogging platform with rich features.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
LikesVisit ↗
nostr#10
Open protocol for censorship-resistant decentralized social networking.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
LikesVisit ↗
GoToSocial#11
Lightweight Go-based ActivityPub server for small personal instances.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · Android · iOS
LikesVisit ↗
Bastyon#12
Blockchain-backed publishing network built to resist censorship and takedowns.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · Android
LikesVisit ↗
How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. How we compare.
Bluesky alternatives at a glance
Bluesky is a free social app. We compared 12 alternatives: 10 are open source, 10 are completely free, 7 can be self-hosted and 0 work fully offline. The most popular is X (Twitter), with 2k likes.
