# Roughtake vs Mastodon

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Roughtake at 84% against Mastodon's 48%. Roughtake also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Mastodon's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 101). 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.

Roughtake holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 101, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Roughtake's written reviews are positive against 48% of Mastodon's.

Roughtake ships an update every 2 weeks, Mastodon monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Roughtake | Mastodon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (101 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roughtake/id1563767186/reviews)** | [4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 101 | **13K** |
| Positive reviews | **84.0% of reviews** | 48.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 19 MB | 110 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.4** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Roughtake LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1563767188) | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) |

## What reviewers say

### Roughtake

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roughtake/id1563767186)

Discover TV shows and movies with video reviews or by swiping through content. Share your opinions on streaming content through video posts and build a following as a critic.

**Highlights:** Discover movies and TV shows, Video reviews, Swipe interface for content discovery, Post video reviews, Build a following, Become a critic

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, 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 Roughtake free?

Roughtake 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, Roughtake or Mastodon?

Roughtake is rated higher. Roughtake averages 4.9 out of 5 from 101 ratings, while Mastodon averages 4.5 from 13K ratings.

### Do Roughtake or Mastodon have ads?

Neither Roughtake nor Mastodon shows ads.

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

Roughtake ships an update every 2 weeks, and Mastodon monthly. Most recently, Roughtake was updated on October 24, 2026 and Mastodon on October 28, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*