Mastodon vs Iconfactory Tapestry
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Iconfactory Tapestry
Aggregate content from various social media, blogs, podcasts, and video channels into a single, chronological feed. Organize your digital life with custom timelines, powerful search, and spoiler-blocking rules for a personalized browsing experience.
- Unified chronological timeline
- Supports social media, blogs, RSS, podcasts, YouTube
- Customizable timelines
- Spoiler and topic muting rules
- Cross-device sync
- Private by design
- Custom connectors
Read full descriptionHide full description
Tapestry weaves your favorite blogs, social media, and more into a unified and chronological timeline. ⁕ The Web Your Way Tapestry combines posts from your favorite social media services like Bluesky, Mastodon, Tumblr along with others like RSS feeds, podcasts, YouTube channels, and more. All of your content is presented in chronological order, with no algorithm deciding what you should or shouldn't see. ⁕ Join The Conversation Compose new posts, reply to your friends, and read discussions on Bluesky or Mastodon right from inside of Tapestry. No need to switch to another app when you want to interact. ⁕ A Bird's Eye View Tapestry makes it easier than ever to browse content from dozens or even hundreds of sources. Create custom timelines, seamlessly sync your reading position across devices, and keep track of feeds in an easy-to-read, color-coded stream of content. ⁕ Avoid Spoilers Everywhere Quickly create powerful rules that control what you do and don't see across all your feeds. Avoid potential spoilers and stay clear of unwanted topics by creating rules that muffle and mute items in everything you follow. ⁕ Powerful Searching Search for topics and terms across all feeds simultaneously. Tapestry makes it easy to find that blog post, YouTube video, or podcast you're looking for - and easy to mark it for later. ⁕ Private By Design Your privacy is a priority. Tapestry works with content stored on your device, so searching and viewing content is completely private. We never sell or share your data with third parties. ⁕ Custom Connectors Expand Tapestry’s potential with third-party connectors. Import custom connectors from trusted developers, or even write your own to add your favorite bit of data to the timeline. If there's an open data feed available, a connector can weave it into Tapestry. Additional Features: • Universal app for iOS, iPadOS and macOS • Quickly open posts in your favorite third party apps to take action • Syncs your reading position via iCloud across devices • Fully accessible using VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, and more • Customize Tapestry's app icon, layout, and fonts • Create custom timelines of your favorite feeds • Mark your favorite items to read later • Light and dark mode support -------- Tapestry uses auto-renewing subscriptions. The subscription provides access to premium features like ad removal, custom timelines, feed customization, and more. The subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions will automatically renew at the end of your subscription period and will be charged through your iTunes account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renewal at any time from your iTunes account settings. Cancellation of the current active subscription period is not allowed. Terms of Use: https://tapestry.iconfactory.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://tapestry.iconfactory.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mastodon at none against Iconfactory Tapestry's 3. Mastodon also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 300). Iconfactory Tapestry's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 48%). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Iconfactory Tapestry sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Mastodon asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Mastodon against 4.6 for Iconfactory Tapestry. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 300, 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 81% of Iconfactory Tapestry's.
Mastodon ships an update monthly, Iconfactory Tapestry every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Mastodon | Iconfactory Tapestry |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (13K ratings) | 4.6 (300 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.3% of reviews | 81.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 300 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 110 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Mastodon GmbH | The Iconfactory |
Customer experience
Mastodon
Iconfactory Tapestry
User reviews
Mastodon
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Iconfactory Tapestry
From 300 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Chronological timeline
- 👍 Elegant and polished design
- 🔒 Secure and privacy-focused
- 🎨 Customizable appearance
- 🔗 Integrates multiple feeds (RSS, Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, etc.)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🔍 Confusing connector setup process
- 🔍 Limited feed management options (no read/unread, bookmarks, etc.)
- 🖼️ Cluttered UI with too much visual noise
- 🔍 Lack of in-app engagement (no likes, replies, etc.)
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
Iconfactory Tapestry
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent behavior when rotating device
- Occasional feed sync issues
- Crashes when trying to screenshot certain screens
Requested features
8 requests- Add ability to mark posts as read
- Implement bookmarking/saving functionality
- Allow custom font size and theme options
- Provide more granular control over muting/filtering
- Add in-app engagement features (likes, replies, etc.)
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Improve connector discovery and setup process
- Develop a dedicated newsletter connector
- Release a companion Mac app
In-app purchases
Mastodon
No in-app purchases
Iconfactory Tapestry
- Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$19.991 Year
- Tapestry Lifetime Purchase$79.99
Questions
Is Mastodon free?
Is Iconfactory Tapestry free?
Which has better reviews, Mastodon or Iconfactory Tapestry?
Do Mastodon or Iconfactory Tapestry have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Iconfactory Tapestry?
Other comparisons















