Comparison

Mastodon vs Truth Social

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

Head to head
About

Mastodon

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
Read full description

Mastodon is the best way to keep up with what’s happening. Follow anyone across the fediverse and see it all in chronological order. No algorithms, ads, or clickbait in sight. This is the official iOS app for Mastodon. In our app, you can: EXPLORE ■ Discover new writers, journalists, artists, photographers, scientists and more ■ See what’s happening in the world READ ■ Keep up with people you care about in a chronological feed with no interruptions ■ Follow hashtags to keep up with specific topics in real time CREATE ■ Post to your followers or the whole world, with polls, high quality images and videos ■ Participate in interesting conversations with other people CURATE ■ Create lists of people to never miss a post ■ Filter words or phrases to control what you do and don’t want to see AND MORE! ■ Login and switch between multiple accounts ■ No spoilers! You can put your posts behind content warnings A POWERFUL PUBLISHING PLATFORM You no longer have to try and appease an opaque algorithm that decides if your friends are going to see what you posted. If they follow you, they’ll see it. If you publish it to the open web, it’s accessible on the open web. You can safely share links to Mastodon in the knowledge that anyone will be able to read them without logging in. Between threads, polls, high quality images, videos, audio, and content warnings, Mastodon offers plenty of ways to express yourself in a way that suits you. A POWERFUL READING PLATFORM We don’t need to show you ads, so we don’t need to keep you in our app. Mastodon has the richest selection of 3rd party apps and integrations so you can choose the experience that fits you best. Thanks to the chronological home feed, it’s easy to tell when you’ve caught up on all updates and can move on to something else. No need to worry that a misclick will ruin your recommendations forever. We don’t guess what you want to see, we let you control it. PROTOCOLS, NOT PLATFORMS Mastodon is not like a traditional social media platform, but is built on a decentralized protocol. You can sign up on our official server, or choose a 3rd party to host your data and moderate your experience. Thanks to the common protocol, no matter what you choose, you can communicate seamlessly with people on other Mastodon servers. But there’s more: With just one account, you can communicate with people from other fediverse platforms. Not happy with your choice? You can always switch to a different Mastodon server while taking your followers with you. For advanced users, you can even host your data on your own infrastructure, since Mastodon is open-source. NON-PROFIT IN NATURE Mastodon is a registered non-profit in the US and Germany. We are not motivated by extracting monetary value from the platform, but by what’s best for the platform. AS FEATURED IN: TIME, Forbes, Wired, The Guardian, CNN, The Verge, TechCrunch, Financial Times, Gizmodo, PCMAG.com, and more.

About

Truth Social

Share your thoughts, news, and media with a global community. Engage in conversations, follow influential voices, and stay informed on breaking news. Express yourself freely and connect with others who share your interests.

Highlights
  • Create and customize your profile
  • Share posts, photos, and videos
  • Follow users and view their content
  • Receive notifications for interactions
  • Search for interesting voices
  • Engage in conversations
Read full description

Follow the Truth! What exactly is Truth Social's "Big Tent" approach? Think of a giant outdoor event tent at your best friend's wedding. Who's there? The combination of multiple families from all over the United States, and the world. Uncle Jim from Atlanta is a proud libertarian. Aunt Kellie from Texas is a staunch conservative. Your cousin John from California is a die-hard liberal. And guess what? They're all together to have an amazing time and share their different viewpoints on the world. Although we don't always agree with each other, we welcome these varied opinions and the robust conversation they bring. Let your voice be heard. Sign up, join the conversation, and share your unique opinion by posting a Truth, Re-Truth, photo, news story, or video link to communicate with your friends, customers, and the world. Stay informed about breaking news while staying directly connected with the people who influence you – don't be shocked if they take your Truth viral! Key Features Profile - Express your unique personality by setting up a profile, avatar, and background. Begin to track your personal connections through follower and following counts as well as history for your posts and likes. Truth Feed - Get the scoop on the latest thoughts and activities from the people, organizations, and news outlets that interest you. The Truth Feed contains posts from all those you follow brought to life with the help of thumbnail photos, links, and more. Search - Truth Social really starts to become interesting as you connect with others. Search for a voice that you find interesting and easily follow them right from the search list or view their profile first before deciding. Notifications - Stay engaged as you build a following. See who's following you and who's interacting with your Truth's. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Mastodon4 screens
Truth Social4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mastodon at none against Truth Social's 2. Mastodon also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (48% vs 34%). Truth Social's advantage is chart position (#46 vs unranked) and ratings volume (118K vs 13K). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Truth Social sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.49 per month. Mastodon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Mastodon against 4.5 for Truth Social. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Truth Social has 118K ratings behind it against 13K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 48% of Mastodon's written reviews are positive against 34% of Truth Social's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mastodon ships an update monthly, Truth Social every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 8, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Mastodon versus Truth Social: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastodonTruth Social
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13K ratings) — better4.5 (118K ratings)
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews — better33.5% of reviews
Number of ratings13K118K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#46 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB109 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMastodon GmbHT Media Tech LLC

Customer experience

Mastodon

All ratings13,482 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews890 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative32.9%

Truth Social

All ratings118,400 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews1,181 reviews
Positive33.5%
Neutral4.4%
Negative62.1%

User reviews

Mastodon

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Friendly and welcoming community
  • 🚀 Decentralized and free from corporate control
  • 🔒 No data collection or ads
  • 🤖 Good alternative to Twitter
  • 💡 Ability to self-host servers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🤔 Confusing onboarding and server selection
  • 📱 Limited functionality compared to web version
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding and following people
  • 🕰️ Slow or delayed notifications

Truth Social

From 118K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and smooth app experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🤝 Welcoming and engaged community
  • 🔍 Unfiltered access to diverse perspectives
  • 🗣️ Ability to freely express views without censorship

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • ⚠️ Concerns about echo chamber and lack of moderation
  • 🚫 Difficulty registering or accessing the app for some users
  • 💬 Limited character count for posts
  • 🔒 Requirement to provide phone number for registration

Bugs and requests

Mastodon

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Can't log in or create account
  • Keyboard freezes during editing
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching accounts
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Truth Social

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Registration process issues and long waitlists
  • Inconsistent behavior when navigating the app
  • Notifications not working properly
  • Duplicate posts and difficulty finding new content
  • Compatibility problems on certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Increase character limit for posts
  • Add ability to save or bookmark posts
  • Improve threading and conversation view
  • Provide more robust moderation tools
  • Expand international availability

In-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Truth Social

Subscriptions2
  • Patriot Package Monthly7 Days trial$14.491 Month
  • Patriot Package Yearly7 Days trial$136.991 Year

Questions

Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Truth Social free?
Truth Social is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mastodon or Truth Social?
Mastodon is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Truth Social averages 4.5 from 118K ratings.
Do Mastodon or Truth Social have ads?
Truth Social shows ads; Mastodon does not.
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Truth Social?
Mastodon ships an update monthly, and Truth Social every 3 weeks. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on November 8, 2026 and Truth Social on November 8, 2026.

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