Comparison

Tootoise vs Tusker

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

Head to head
About

Tootoise

A straightforward client for the Mastodon social network, allowing users to manage multiple accounts, interact with timelines, and customize their experience. It offers robust post management features, including editing and pinning, along with privacy controls like muting and blocking.

Highlights
  • Manage multiple Mastodon accounts
  • View and post to timelines
  • Create and edit post lists
  • Pinning and bookmarking posts
  • Mute, block, and report users
  • Customizable theme colors
  • Edit posts
Features
Read full description

Tootoise is a simple Mastodon client. ## You can do this - View and post timeline - Add and switch multiple accounts - List display, creation and editing - Add, remove and list favourites - Add, remove and list bookmarks - Display notifications list (Not push notifications) - Display and input of custom emoji - Post information about the song you are currently listening to - Sharing from other applications (Safari, etc.) - Use with iPad multitasking function (SplitView, SlideOver) - Change theme color - Absolute time display - Pinning posts - Mute, block, report, filter - Search (As per server specifications) - Display and vote on poll - Edit a post (Some functions are not yet supported.) - Setting and displaying the ALT attribute (alternate text) ## These are not possible - Push notifications - Streaming - Create a poll - Relative time display The text size can be changed from the iOS Settings view. You can check the license of the library etc. used in this App by tapping the app icon in iOS settings.

About

Tusker

This app offers a flexible and customizable client for the Mastodon social network and compatible services. It provides advanced features like notification grouping, timeline syncing across devices, and extensive personalization options for a tailored social media experience.

Highlights
  • Notification grouping
  • Timeline sync with iCloud
  • Customizable timelines with filters
  • Extensive user preferences
  • Digital wellness options
  • Multiple account support
  • Modern Mastodon features
Features
Read full description

Tusker is a free and flexible client for the Mastodon social network and other compatible services. Features: • Notification grouping: Combine favorite, boost, and follow notifications into a single row to get a more glance-able view of your notifications. • Timeline sync: Keep your timeline position across all your devices using iCloud. • Customize timelines: Pick which timelines (including lists, hashtags, and public instance timelines) are pinned to your home tab, and apply filters to hide posts you're not interested in. • Tweak your experience: Tusker has a wide variety of preferences to allow you to customize how you use the app. From changing the appearance and interactions, to configuring how content warnings work, Tusker supports it all. • Digital wellness options: Tusker has a variety of preferences to help you manage how you use social media, including by turning infinite scrolling off or showing all images in grayscale. • Accessibility: VoiceOver, Voice Control, Dynamic Type, and more are all fully supported. • Multiple accounts: Sign in to multiple accounts and quickly switch between them. • Modern Mastodon features: Edit posts, view quotes, view trending posts/hashtags/links, translate posts, and more. • Broad software compatibility: Tusker also has builtin support for the Glitch and Hometown variants of Mastodon; as well as Pleroma/Akkoma, a Mastodon alternative; and PixelFed, a photo-sharing social network. Mastodon is part of the fediverse, a free, open source, and decentralized social network. From your home server, communicate and interact with people on any other server using the ActivityPub protocol. Learn more at joinmastodon.org. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Tootoise4 screens
Tusker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tootoise at none against Tusker's 4. Tootoise also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Tusker's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (91% vs 68%). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. Tusker sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Tootoise asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tusker holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 31 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Tootoise's written reviews are positive against 91% of Tusker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tootoise ships an update every 2 weeks, Tusker every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Tootoise versus Tusker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTootoiseTusker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (18 ratings)4.7 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews90.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1831 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB18 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperNaoki KuwataVaccor, LLC

Customer experience

Tootoise

All ratings18 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral16.0%
Negative16.0%

Tusker

All ratings32 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%

In-app purchases

None

Tootoise

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Tusker

Subscriptions1
  • Tusker Supporter$1.991 Month
One-time3
  • Nice Tip$1.99
  • Awesome Tip$6.99
  • Incredible Tip$14.99

Questions

Is Tootoise free?
Tootoise is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tusker free?
Tusker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tootoise or Tusker?
Tusker is rated higher. Tootoise averages 4.3 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Tusker averages 4.7 from 31 ratings.
Do Tootoise or Tusker have ads?
Neither Tootoise nor Tusker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tootoise or Tusker?
Tootoise ships an update every 2 weeks, and Tusker every 3 months. Most recently, Tootoise was updated on October 6, 2026 and Tusker on October 19, 2026.

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