Comparison

Mastodon vs Kindly Ink

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

Kindly Ink

Create and send personalized handwritten letters via email. Choose from various stationery and envelopes to craft unique messages. Save digital copies of your creations.

Highlights
  • Handwritten letter creation
  • Email delivery
  • Customizable stationery and envelopes
  • Digital letter saving
  • iPad exclusive experience
  • Easy sign-up
Features
Read full description

Handwrite heartfelt messages to your friends and loved ones on your iPad and send them as beautifully crafted letters via email. Whether it's a quick hello or a thoughtful note, Kindly Ink brings the art of letter-writing into the digital age; and makes every message personal, creative, and memorable. Key Features Easy Sign-Up: Get started quickly with Google sign-in. Beautiful Handwritten Letters: Use your finger or Apple Pencil to write on various stationery styles and pair them with elegant envelopes. Seamless Email Delivery: Send your letters directly to your friends' email inboxes. Download and Keep: Save your letters to your personal device as digital keepsakes. Universal Viewing: Recipients can view your letters anywhere, ensuring your message always gets across. iPad Exclusive: Write, send, and reply to letters using the iPad app, designed for the ultimate handwritten experience. Experience the joy of thoughtful communication with Kindly Ink. Download the app today and start sending letters that truly matter. Developer's Thoughts In today's world of technology and digital communication, we have many apps to connect with others. Most of the time, these are fragmented pieces of information, and they rarely carry the depth of emotion that we want to express to each other. That’s why I came up with the idea to create this app—so everyone can rediscover the joy of handwritten letters and share them with family and close friends. During the development process, countless ideas kept coming, but I chose to exercise restraint and focus on perfecting the core functions and user experience first. So if there's a feature you really want, please leave a comment or give me feedback within the app. I read every suggestion and opinion! Automatic Subscription Service Description Subscription Services: Annual Subscription Monthly Subscription Subscription Prices: Annual Subscription: $24.99/year. Monthly Subscription: $3.99/month. Automatic Renewal Your Apple iTunes account will be charged 24 hours before the subscription expires. Once the payment is successful, the subscription will be extended for another subscription period. Cancel Subscription To manage the subscription, go to your iPhone - Settings - Tap on "iTunes & App Store" - Click on Apple ID - Select "View Apple ID" to access the "Account Settings" page. Tap on "Subscriptions" to manage your automatic subscription service. To cancel, simply turn off the subscription 24 hours before the end of each billing cycle. No charge will be made if canceled within 24 hours before the renewal date. User Agreement https://kindlyink.com/user_agreement.html Privay Agreement https://kindlyink.com/privacy_agreement.html Renew Rules https://kindlyink.com/auto-renewal-rules.html

Screenshots

Mastodon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mastodon at 4.5 against Kindly Ink's 3.8. Mastodon also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (13K vs 13). Kindly Ink's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads 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. Kindly Ink sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Mastodon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mastodon holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 13, 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 25% of Kindly Ink's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mastodon ships an update monthly, Kindly Ink every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Mastodon versus Kindly Ink: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastodonKindly Ink
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13K ratings) — better3.8 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13K — better13
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB24 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperMastodon GmbHguoyong dong

Customer experience

Mastodon

All ratings13,482 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews890 reviews
Positive48.3%
Neutral18.8%
Negative32.9%

Kindly Ink

All ratings7 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral14.3%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

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

Kindly Ink

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Kindly Ink

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$69.99

Questions

Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kindly Ink free?
Kindly Ink is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mastodon or Kindly Ink?
Mastodon is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Kindly Ink averages 3.8 from 13 ratings.
Do Mastodon or Kindly Ink have ads?
Neither Mastodon nor Kindly Ink shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Kindly Ink?
Mastodon ships an update monthly, and Kindly Ink every 2 days. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on October 30, 2026 and Kindly Ink on October 25, 2026.

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