# Hydra Social vs Mastodon

The clearest difference is rating: Hydra Social at 5.0 against Mastodon's 4.5. Hydra Social also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). Mastodon's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 2) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). 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.

Hydra Social 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 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Hydra Social ships an update every 2 months, Mastodon monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hydra Social | Mastodon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hydra-social/id1492505590/reviews)** | [4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | — | 48.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 93 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [HAIDARCORP LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1389887758) | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) |

## What reviewers say

### Hydra Social

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hydra-social/id1492505590)

Consolidate your social media experience into a single, feature-rich platform. Share videos, images, and discussions, chat with friends, play games, and discover content through topics and groups. Organize location-based events and customize your interface with themes.

**Highlights:** Video, Image, and Discussion Posts, Direct Messaging, In-App Games, Friend Discovery, Location-Based Events, Topic-Based Content Discovery, Group Participation, Customizable Themes

**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 Hydra Social free?

Hydra Social 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, Hydra Social or Mastodon?

Hydra Social is rated higher. Hydra Social averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Mastodon averages 4.5 from 13K ratings.

### Do Hydra Social or Mastodon have ads?

Neither Hydra Social nor Mastodon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hydra Social or Mastodon?

Hydra Social ships an update every 2 months, and Mastodon monthly. Most recently, Hydra Social was updated on November 3, 2026 and Mastodon on November 7, 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.*