# Icro vs Mastodon

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Icro at 100% against Mastodon's 48%. Icro also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). Mastodon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (13K vs 20). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Icro sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Mastodon asks for nothing beyond the download.

Icro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Icro's written reviews are positive against 48% of Mastodon's.

Icro ships an update every 2 months, Mastodon monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Icro | Mastodon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icro/id1375296597/reviews)** | [4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 20 | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 48.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 6 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Martin Hartl](https://appshunter.io/developer/591053556) | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) |

## What reviewers say

### Icro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icro/id1375296597)

This app provides a streamlined way to interact with micro.blog and WordPress hosted sites. View timelines, mentions, and discover content, while also posting updates and replying to conversations. It offers features like saving reading positions and muting unwanted content.

**Highlights:** View timelines, mentions, and discover sections, Post to micro.blog and WordPress sites, Reply to users and view conversations, Save reading position, Cache older posts, Mute/Blacklist users and keywords

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Thank You! | $0.99 | one-time |
| Big Thank You! | $3.99 | one-time |
| Huge Thank You | $8.99 | one-time |


### 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 Icro free?

Icro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Mastodon free?

Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Icro or Mastodon?

Icro is rated higher. Icro averages 4.8 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Mastodon averages 4.5 from 13K ratings.

### Do Icro or Mastodon have ads?

Neither Icro nor Mastodon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Icro or Mastodon?

Icro ships an update every 2 months, and Mastodon monthly. Most recently, Icro was updated on September 16, 2026 and Mastodon on October 16, 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.*