Comparison

Tusker vs Thunder for Lemmy

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

Head to head
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/

About

Thunder for Lemmy

An open-source client for exploring the fediverse, offering multi-account support and extensive customization. Navigate communities, posts, and comments with swipe gestures and a Safari extension for seamless linking. Still in early development with more features planned.

Highlights
  • Open source client
  • Multi-account support
  • Customizable settings
  • Swipe gestures
  • Safari extension
Features
Read full description

Thunder is an open source Lemmy/PieFed client for the fediverse, fully free of advertisements and trackers. Here's a peek at what Thunder offers: - Multi-account support: Login to all your accounts, and switch between them at ease - Fully customizable settings: Choose your own splash of accent, customize your own gestures, and much more - Swipe gestures: Navigate and interact with your favourite communities, posts, and comments all through customizable swipe gestures. - Safari extension: Opens Lemmy links in Thunder Thunder is still very early on in development and many more features are yet to be available!

Screenshots

Tusker4 screens
Thunder for Lemmy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Tusker at 4.7 against Thunder for Lemmy's 3.6. Tusker also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 71%). Thunder for Lemmy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). 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. Thunder for Lemmy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tusker holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Tusker's written reviews are positive against 71% of Thunder for Lemmy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tusker ships an update every 3 months, Thunder for Lemmy every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Tusker versus Thunder for Lemmy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTuskerThunder for Lemmy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (30 ratings) — better3.6 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings30 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB45 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperVaccor, LLCHamlet Jiang Su

Customer experience

Tusker

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

Thunder for Lemmy

All ratings13 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

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
None

Thunder for Lemmy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tusker free?
Tusker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Thunder for Lemmy free?
Thunder for Lemmy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tusker or Thunder for Lemmy?
Tusker is rated higher. Tusker averages 4.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Thunder for Lemmy averages 3.6 from 14 ratings.
Do Tusker or Thunder for Lemmy have ads?
Neither Tusker nor Thunder for Lemmy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tusker or Thunder for Lemmy?
Tusker ships an update every 3 months, and Thunder for Lemmy every 2 weeks. Most recently, Tusker was updated on November 3, 2026 and Thunder for Lemmy on November 3, 2026.

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