Comparison

Mastodon vs AstroImg

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

AstroImg

Discover stunning astronomical photographs shared by amateurs worldwide. Connect with fellow stargazers, learn about the universe, and enhance your astrophotography skills with tutorials and helpful tools.

Highlights
  • Explore astronomical photographs
  • Connect with astro-pals
  • Learn about the universe
  • Astrophotography tutorials
  • Stargazing spot information
  • Light Pollution Map
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Start your astronomy stargazing journey here! Appreciate photographs from astronomy amateurs around the world, explore the mysteries of the universe, and enjoy the beauty of the starry sky. Share photography skills with astronomy amateurs, chat with astro-pals, and make dates to image together. Learn about the universe and stargazing with your family. AstroNet is a professional platform for astronomy amateurs around the world to share knowledge and experiences. It boasts a vast collection of astronomical photography, including wide-field, planets, and deep space that covers almost all types of astronomical images. Detailed tutorials on stargazing and astrophotography are available, allowing you to start astrophotography instantly and without any barriers. Additionally, the platform offers information on stargazing spots and the Light Pollution Map, along with other assistive tools to enhance your photography experience. You can view nearby works, and connect with astro-pals to chat and explore the mysteries of the universe together. The platform supports multi-languages, including the One-Tap-Translation, enabling seamless communication with global astro-pals without language barriers.

Screenshots

Mastodon4 screens
AstroImg4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mastodon at 4.5 against AstroImg's 4.0. Mastodon also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 10). AstroImg's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mastodon holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 48% of Mastodon's written reviews are positive against 50% of AstroImg's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Mastodon versus AstroImg: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastodonAstroImg
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13K ratings) — better4.0 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better10
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB95 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMastodon GmbHSuZhou ZWO Co., Ltd

Customer experience

Mastodon

All ratings13,482 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews889 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative33.0%

AstroImg

All ratings10 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

AstroImg

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

None

AstroImg

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AstroImg free?
AstroImg is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mastodon or AstroImg?
Mastodon is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while AstroImg averages 4.0 from 10 ratings.
Do Mastodon or AstroImg have ads?
Neither Mastodon nor AstroImg shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or AstroImg?
Mastodon ships an update monthly, and AstroImg monthly. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on October 29, 2026 and AstroImg on October 24, 2026.

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