Comparison

Mastodon vs Would App

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

Would App

This social networking app allows you to discreetly express interest in your existing contacts. If mutual interest is indicated, both users are notified, enabling connections without the pressure of direct initiation. It focuses on people you already know, eliminating strangers and profiles.

Highlights
  • Contacts-based interest indicator
  • Mutual interest notifications
  • No stranger profiles
  • Anonymous invite feature
  • Discreet interest exploration
  • Facilitates reconnection
Features
Read full description

SEE WHO WOULD Would is a contacts-based app for shooting shots with the people you know. Import your contacts, and toggle the “Would” button if you want to indicate interest. If both of you Would, you’ll each receive a notification. It’s up to you two to take it from there. Would provides a way to express interest in people you know without the stakes. No strangers, no profiles, no misses. Nothing happens, unless you both Would. Mutual interest only: Nothing happens unless both people are interested. It’s a secret crush revealer that only works if it goes both ways. No profile: No one will know you're using Would unless you tell them—or invite them to download the app with the anonymous invite feature. No strangers: Would is all about the people you already know, not strangers you’ll never meet. No making it weird: Quit worrying about rejection. See who’s interested without having to make the first move. Reconnection: Whether it’s a random cutie from way back, the one who got away, or *that* ex, Would is that “hey” text you want to send without having to send it first. Discretion: Questioning? Closeted? Just curious? Would allows you to discreetly explore possibilities you might not be sure about.

Screenshots

Mastodon4 screens
Would App3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Would App at 100% against Mastodon's 48%. Would App also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). Mastodon's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (13K vs 9). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Would App holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mastodon has 13K ratings behind it against 9, 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 Would App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mastodon ships an update monthly, Would App every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mastodon versus Would App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastodonWould App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13K ratings)4.9 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better9
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB19 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMastodon GmbHWould USA, Inc.

Customer experience

Mastodon

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

Would App

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Would App

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

None

Would App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Would App free?
Would App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mastodon or Would App?
Would App is rated higher. Mastodon averages 4.5 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Would App averages 4.9 from 9 ratings.
Do Mastodon or Would App have ads?
Neither Mastodon nor Would App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Would App?
Mastodon ships an update monthly, and Would App every 9 months. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on September 24, 2026 and Would App on June 9, 2026.

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