Comparison

Mastodon vs Spoutible

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

Spoutible

A social media platform focused on creating an inclusive, enjoyable, and secure online environment. It actively combats harassment, hate speech, and disinformation, prioritizing user privacy and diversity.

Highlights
  • Inclusive online environment
  • Combats harassment and hate speech
  • Zero-tolerance for disinformation
  • Prioritizes user privacy
  • Celebrates diversity
  • Powerful security tools
Features
Read full description

Introducing Spoutible - a social media app with a vision for an inclusive, enjoyable, and secure online environment. We've turned the page on conventional social media platforms, proving that safety doesn't require sterility. Here, you can express yourself freely in a space consciously built to curb targeted harassment, hate speech, disinformation, and manipulative tactics. Our goal is to revolutionize the social media scene, encouraging diversity, inclusivity, and transparency. We value the contributions of women, people of color, disabled individuals, and the LGBTQ+ community in shaping Spoutible's unique direction. By celebrating diversity, we aim to serve all our users, irrespective of their background or identity. Your privacy is our priority, and we firmly stand against the sale of personal data. We ensure a legally binding pact with our users, promising never to commercialize their private information. Our zero-tolerance approach to targeted harassment, hate speech, disinformation, and manipulation ensures a positive environment. We strictly prohibit hate-driven accounts and those spreading misinformation. On Spoutible, trolling and spreading falsehoods is a relic of the past. We provide powerful tools to secure our users, available at no charge. Our guidelines are stringent, and violation of our terms of service is not tolerated. Any form of hate or attack on personal characteristics is unacceptable. Join Spoutible and be a part of our mission to shape a more inclusive, enjoyable digital space that retains the charm of social media. Together, we can build a superior online community for everyone.

Screenshots

Mastodon4 screens
Spoutible4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Spoutible at 88% against Mastodon's 48%. Spoutible also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). Mastodon's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (13K vs 1.4K). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spoutible holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 1.4K, 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 88% of Spoutible's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mastodon ships an update monthly, Spoutible every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Mastodon versus Spoutible: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastodonSpoutible
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13K ratings)4.8 (1.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews88.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better1.4K
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB6 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMastodon GmbHSpoutible Inc.

Customer experience

Mastodon

All ratings13,481 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews888 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative32.9%

Spoutible

All ratings1,421 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral0.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews184 reviews
Positive88.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative9.8%

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

Spoutible

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌱 Welcoming and inclusive community
  • 🔒 Robust moderation to address harassment and toxicity
  • 🐳 Visually appealing and intuitive design
  • 📚 Diverse range of topics and discussions
  • 🧑‍💻 Responsive and accessible developer

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Limited discoverability of new users and content
  • 🔧 Some UI/UX elements could be improved
  • 🔀 Transition from web to app could be smoother

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

Spoutible

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notification issues where unread count persists
  • Difficulty loading photos and media at times
  • Inconsistent behavior when navigating between threads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to increase font size
  • More customization options for user profiles
  • Enhanced search and discovery tools
  • Integration with external platforms and services

In-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

None

Spoutible

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spoutible free?
Spoutible is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mastodon or Spoutible?
Spoutible is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Spoutible averages 4.8 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Mastodon or Spoutible have ads?
Neither Mastodon nor Spoutible shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Spoutible?
Mastodon ships an update monthly, and Spoutible every 8 days. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on September 24, 2026 and Spoutible on September 19, 2026.

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