# Mastodon vs Hereabout App

The clearest difference is rating: Hereabout App at 5.0 against Mastodon's 4.5. Hereabout App also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). Mastodon's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Hereabout App 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 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Mastodon ships an update monthly, Hereabout App every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mastodon | Hereabout App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mastodon/id1571998974/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hereabout-app/id6478040527/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **13K** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 48.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 110 MB | 85 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Mastodon GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1571998976) | [Stormbyte LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1632794739) |

## 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


### Hereabout App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hereabout-app/id6478040527)

Share and discover locations with verified posts, photos, voice, and video. Create and join events with live streaming and chat. Build curated map layers for specific themes or regions.

**Highlights:** Location-verified posts, Add photos, voice, or video, Live streaming from locations, Event creation and management, Thematic and regional map layers, Community moderation tools, Privacy controls

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mastodon free?

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

### Is Hereabout App free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Mastodon or Hereabout App?

Hereabout App is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Hereabout App averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Mastodon or Hereabout App have ads?

Neither Mastodon nor Hereabout App shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Hereabout App?

Mastodon ships an update monthly, and Hereabout App every 2 days. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on October 15, 2026 and Hereabout App on October 2, 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.*