Comparison

Keybase vs Mastodon

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Keybase

Securely message anyone on social media or other platforms without needing their personal contact information. All communications are end-to-end encrypted and accessible across multiple devices. This open-source platform is free and ad-free for all users.

Highlights
  • Secure messaging to social media users
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Multi-device support
  • Open source
  • Ad-free
Features
Read full description

Keybase is a messaging platform where: • you can write securely to any twitter, reddit, facebook, github, and hacker news user • you don't need to know someone's phone number or email address • all messages are secure, end-to-end encrypted • multi-device: your messages survive and transfer with encryption to new phones & computers Keybase is so much more. It is: • free for everyone, and free of ads • open source (https://github.com/keybase/client) • multi-platform, w/apps for macOS, Linux, and Windows (https://keybase.io/download) By using the Keybase app you agree to the following terms: • you'll be a nice Internet person Keybase for mobile is brand new and we yearn for feedback. Inside the app, click the gear icon and then choose "feedback" to send us a summary of your experience.

About

Mastodon

Connect with others on a decentralized social network. Share posts, images, and videos in chronological order without algorithms or ads. Discover new content and participate in conversations across the fediverse.

Highlights
  • Chronological feed
  • No algorithms or ads
  • Discover new users and topics
  • Post with images, videos, and polls
  • Create custom lists
  • Filter content
  • Cross-platform communication
Features
Read full description

Mastodon is the best way to keep up with what’s happening. Follow anyone across the fediverse and see it all in chronological order. No algorithms, ads, or clickbait in sight. This is the official iOS app for Mastodon. In our app, you can: EXPLORE ■ Discover new writers, journalists, artists, photographers, scientists and more ■ See what’s happening in the world READ ■ Keep up with people you care about in a chronological feed with no interruptions ■ Follow hashtags to keep up with specific topics in real time CREATE ■ Post to your followers or the whole world, with polls, high quality images and videos ■ Participate in interesting conversations with other people CURATE ■ Create lists of people to never miss a post ■ Filter words or phrases to control what you do and don’t want to see AND MORE! ■ Login and switch between multiple accounts ■ No spoilers! You can put your posts behind content warnings A POWERFUL PUBLISHING PLATFORM You no longer have to try and appease an opaque algorithm that decides if your friends are going to see what you posted. If they follow you, they’ll see it. If you publish it to the open web, it’s accessible on the open web. You can safely share links to Mastodon in the knowledge that anyone will be able to read them without logging in. Between threads, polls, high quality images, videos, audio, and content warnings, Mastodon offers plenty of ways to express yourself in a way that suits you. A POWERFUL READING PLATFORM We don’t need to show you ads, so we don’t need to keep you in our app. Mastodon has the richest selection of 3rd party apps and integrations so you can choose the experience that fits you best. Thanks to the chronological home feed, it’s easy to tell when you’ve caught up on all updates and can move on to something else. No need to worry that a misclick will ruin your recommendations forever. We don’t guess what you want to see, we let you control it. PROTOCOLS, NOT PLATFORMS Mastodon is not like a traditional social media platform, but is built on a decentralized protocol. You can sign up on our official server, or choose a 3rd party to host your data and moderate your experience. Thanks to the common protocol, no matter what you choose, you can communicate seamlessly with people on other Mastodon servers. But there’s more: With just one account, you can communicate with people from other fediverse platforms. Not happy with your choice? You can always switch to a different Mastodon server while taking your followers with you. For advanced users, you can even host your data on your own infrastructure, since Mastodon is open-source. NON-PROFIT IN NATURE Mastodon is a registered non-profit in the US and Germany. We are not motivated by extracting monetary value from the platform, but by what’s best for the platform. AS FEATURED IN: TIME, Forbes, Wired, The Guardian, CNN, The Verge, TechCrunch, Financial Times, Gizmodo, PCMAG.com, and more.

Screenshots

Keybase4 screens
Mastodon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mastodon at 4.5 against Keybase's 3.5. Mastodon also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 323) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Keybase's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mastodon holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 323, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Keybase's written reviews are positive against 48% of Mastodon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Keybase ships an update every 3 months, Mastodon monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Keybase versus Mastodon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKeybaseMastodon
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (323 ratings)4.5 (13K ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.5% of reviews48.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32313K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB110 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperKeybase, Inc.Mastodon GmbH

Customer experience

Keybase

All ratings320 ratings
Positive59.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative32.5%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive42.5%
Neutral12.3%
Negative45.3%

Mastodon

All ratings13,482 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews889 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative33.0%

User reviews

Keybase

From 323 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure communication
  • 👍 Useful features like cloud storage and git repos
  • 💡 Innovative crypto integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 👎 Lack of iPad support
  • 👎 Sluggish performance

Mastodon

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Friendly and welcoming community
  • 🚀 Decentralized and free from corporate control
  • 🔒 No data collection or ads
  • 🤖 Good alternative to Twitter
  • 💡 Ability to self-host servers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🤔 Confusing onboarding and server selection
  • 📱 Limited functionality compared to web version
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding and following people
  • 🕰️ Slow or delayed notifications

Bugs and requests

Keybase

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Messaging issues and lost chats
  • Unreliable file sharing

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add iPad app support
  • Improve message threading and navigation
  • Integrate with more social platforms
  • Add password manager functionality

Mastodon

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Can't log in or create account
  • Keyboard freezes during editing
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching accounts
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add local and federated timelines
  • Improve search and discovery features
  • Implement edit and delete post functionality
  • Add support for animated GIFs
  • Provide better accessibility options

In-app purchases

None

Keybase

No in-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Keybase free?
Keybase is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Keybase or Mastodon?
Mastodon is rated higher. Keybase averages 3.5 out of 5 from 323 ratings, while Mastodon averages 4.5 from 13K ratings.
Do Keybase or Mastodon have ads?
Neither Keybase nor Mastodon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Keybase or Mastodon?
Keybase ships an update every 3 months, and Mastodon monthly. Most recently, Keybase was updated on October 24, 2026 and Mastodon on October 26, 2026.

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