# Capitol Lakes vs Mastodon

The clearest difference is rating: Capitol Lakes at 5.0 against Mastodon's 4.5. Capitol Lakes also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). Mastodon's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 13 months) and ratings volume (13K vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

Capitol Lakes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Capitol Lakes ships an update every 13 months, Mastodon monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Capitol Lakes | Mastodon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/capitol-lakes/id1107368831/reviews)** | [4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | — | 48.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 8 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Fusionbase](https://appshunter.io/developer/975686355) | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) |

## What reviewers say

### Capitol Lakes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/capitol-lakes/id1107368831)

This app provides residents of the Capitol Lakes community with essential information. Access health alerts, dining menus, event schedules, and meal plan details. It's designed for easy access to community and resident-specific updates.

**Highlights:** Health alerts, Dining menus, Upcoming events, Meal plan balances, Community information

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Mastodon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Capitol Lakes free?

Capitol Lakes 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, Capitol Lakes or Mastodon?

Capitol Lakes is rated higher. Capitol Lakes averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Mastodon averages 4.5 from 13K ratings.

### Do Capitol Lakes or Mastodon have ads?

Neither Capitol Lakes nor Mastodon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Capitol Lakes or Mastodon?

Capitol Lakes ships an update every 13 months, and Mastodon monthly. Most recently, Capitol Lakes was updated on June 24, 2026 and Mastodon on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*