Instead of Mastodon, try one of these 12.
Every alternative is lined up against Mastodon on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Mastodon sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
Likes
MastodonWhat you have now
Decentralised microblogging across federated servers.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
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 ↗
Bluesky#2
Decentralised social network with a custom feed.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Facebook#3
Mainstream network for friends, groups, and business pages.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · iOS · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Tumblr#4
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#6
Decentralised, ad-free photo sharing.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
LikesVisit ↗
Minds#7
Open-source social network that pays creators for content.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Android · iOS
LikesVisit ↗
Friendica#8
Distributed social network merging many platforms into one feed.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
LikesVisit ↗
Pleroma#9
Lightweight federated microblogging server on open protocols.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
LikesVisit ↗
Misskey#10
Customizable federated microblogging platform with rich features.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
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 ↗
Manyverse#12
Peer-to-peer social app that keeps your data on your phone.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · 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.
Mastodon alternatives at a glance
Mastodon is a free social app. We compared 12 alternatives: 8 are open source, 11 are completely free, 6 can be self-hosted and 1 works fully offline. The most popular is X (Twitter), with 2k likes.
Best open-source optiondiaspora*
Privacy-friendly federated social network you can self-host.
Free · Open source · Self‑hostable