# BEA Community vs Mastodon

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: BEA Community at 16.0 against Mastodon's 18.6. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

BEA Community ships an update every 4 weeks, Mastodon monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BEA Community | Mastodon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | — | 48.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 79 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Toucan Tech](https://appshunter.io/developer/1487516191) | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) |

## What reviewers say

### BEA Community

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bea-community/id1532901103)

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**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 BEA Community free?

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

### Is Mastodon free?

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

### Do BEA Community or Mastodon have ads?

Neither BEA Community nor Mastodon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, BEA Community or Mastodon?

BEA Community ships an update every 4 weeks, and Mastodon monthly. Most recently, BEA Community was updated on October 3, 2026 and Mastodon on October 18, 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.*