# Mastodon vs TribeUp Social

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TribeUp Social at 100% against Mastodon's 48%. TribeUp Social also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). Mastodon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (13K vs 3). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. TribeUp Social sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Mastodon asks for nothing beyond the download.

TribeUp Social holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Mastodon's written reviews are positive against 100% of TribeUp Social's.

Mastodon ships an update monthly, TribeUp Social weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mastodon | TribeUp Social |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tribeup-social/id6447140940/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **13K** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 48.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 110 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) | [The Tribe Up Company Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1680414965) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### TribeUp Social

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tribeup-social/id6447140940)

This app combines personal social networking with relationship management and daily planning tools. It helps users build and maintain meaningful connections through integrated task management and a relationship organizer.

**Highlights:** Personal social networking, Tribe relationship management, Daily planner, Task manager, Build meaningful relationships

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Builder | $6.99 | per month |
| Influencer | $19.99 | per month |
| Professional | $29.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mastodon free?

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

### Is TribeUp Social free?

TribeUp Social is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Mastodon or TribeUp Social?

TribeUp Social is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while TribeUp Social averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Mastodon or TribeUp Social have ads?

Neither Mastodon nor TribeUp Social shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mastodon or TribeUp Social?

Mastodon ships an update monthly, and TribeUp Social weekly. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on November 7, 2026 and TribeUp Social on November 3, 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.*