Comparison

Buffer vs Toot! for Mastodon

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Buffer

Streamline your social media presence by planning, scheduling, and publishing content across multiple platforms from one app. Engage with your audience and track performance with insightful analytics. Ideal for creators looking to grow their online presence efficiently.

Highlights
  • Cross-platform posting
  • Content scheduling
  • Idea organization
  • Performance analytics
  • Calendar view
  • Apple Watch app
Features
Read full description

Post to every social platform with a single app — simple, flexible, and powerful. Buffer helps creators stay consistent without the busywork. Plan and publish your posts automatically, engage with your audience, and keep track of what’s working, all from your phone. Whether you’re sharing your first TikTok, building an audience on LinkedIn, or running multiple accounts, Buffer gives you the tools to grow without feeling overwhelmed. What’s new in v15.0 • Fresh new design with Apple’s Liquid Glass system • Brand-new Apple Watch app (queues, goals, streaks, ideas) • Capture ideas instantly with the iOS Shortcut, Action Button, or on your wrist • New calendar day view across all channels WHY CREATORS LOVE BUFFER PLAN, SCHEDULE, AND PUBLISH • Share to Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, and more. • Schedule YouTube Shorts, TikToks, Instagram Reels, and Stories. • Cross-post content across platforms with a single tap KEEP YOUR IDEAS ORGANIZED • Save inspiration in a central content library • Use tags to keep ideas organized by theme or campaign • Move ideas straight to your schedule when ready SEE WHAT WORKS • Simple analytics and reports show your top-performing posts • Track growth, clicks, and engagement A CALENDAR BUILT FOR CREATORS • Get an at-a-glance view of your upcoming posts • Drill down from a monthly to weekly view NEED HELP? Our friendly team is here for you with world-class support via email and social. Email: hello@buffer.com Twitter: @buffer Facebook: http://facebook.com/bufferapp Instagram: @buffer Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bufferapp/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bufferapp Privacy Policy: https://buffer.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://buffer.com/legal/terms-of-use/year/2023

About

Toot! for Mastodon

A delightful and fast client for the Mastodon social network. It offers a beautiful design with amusing details and robust performance, allowing seamless switching between multiple accounts and reading timelines even when logged out. This app prioritizes user privacy by showing no ads and collecting no information.

Highlights
  • Delightful design with animations
  • Fast and robust performance
  • Local data caching
  • Easy multi-account switching
  • Wide Mastodon feature support
  • Privacy-focused, no ads or tracking
Features
Read full description

Toot! is a client for the Mastodon social network. It is beautiful, and full of character and whimsy. What makes Toot! special? - It is delightful. It is full of beautiful design, animation, amusing details and hidden treasures. - It is fast and robust. It caches data locally to let you read without waiting for slow loading, and it remembers your reading position. - It lets you be as many people as you like. You can easily switch between accounts with a flick of your finger. It even lets you read timelines on instances you are not logged in to! - It has wide support for most features in Mastodon. - It has the cutest icon. What makes Mastodon special? - It is a social network by humans, rather than algorithms and corporate interests. - It is a social network for humans, rather than advertisers and data collectors. - It is a social network that is humane, rather than preying on your insecurities and worst instincts. Why does Toot! cost money? - Toot! shows you no ads, and it collects none of your information, nor does it track any of your habits. It does not try to trick you into doing anything you do not want. - That means it gets no money through such shady tricks, and relies on you to support its development. Follow @tootapp@mastodon.social for more updates and information! Also, many icons by icons8.com.

Screenshots

Buffer4 screens
Toot! for Mastodon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Buffer at Free against Toot! for Mastodon's $3.99. Buffer also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (34K vs 381). Toot! for Mastodon's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 55%). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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

Buffer is free to download; Toot! for Mastodon costs $3.99 up front. Buffer sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Toot! for Mastodon sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Buffer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buffer has 34K ratings behind it against 381, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Buffer's written reviews are positive against 72% of Toot! for Mastodon's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Buffer ships an update weekly, Toot! for Mastodon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Buffer versus Toot! for Mastodon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBufferToot! for Mastodon
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (34K ratings) — better4.3 (381 ratings)
Positive reviews54.6% of reviews72.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings34K — better381
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#144#72 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB75 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBuffer, Inc.Dag Agren

Customer experience

Buffer

All ratings34,422 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews573 reviews
Positive54.6%
Neutral10.1%
Negative35.3%

Toot! for Mastodon

All ratings381 ratings
Positive81.9%
Neutral6.6%
Negative11.5%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral13.7%
Negative14.2%

User reviews

Buffer

From 34K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Easy to use
  • 🕰️ Convenient scheduling
  • 🔍 Helpful for social media management
  • 🤖 Automated posting
  • 📈 Improved engagement and growth

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Stability issues and bugs
  • 🔗 Unreliable platform integrations
  • 📸 Limited image/video handling capabilities
  • 🔒 Frustrating login/authentication problems
  • 💰 Expensive paid plans

Toot! for Mastodon

From 381 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and smooth performance
  • 👍 Intuitive and polished user interface
  • 🔒 Blocks content from problematic servers
  • 💡 Unique and delightful design elements
  • 👍 Handles Mastodon features well (CWs, image descriptions, etc.)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Automatic filtering of servers may be controversial
  • 👎 Lack of customization options (font size, animations, etc.)
  • 👎 Some features hidden behind menus
  • 👎 Issues with loading older posts and timeline navigation

Bugs and requests

Buffer

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Drafts not registering in visual calendar
  • Inability to reorder scheduled posts
  • Inconsistent behavior between mobile and desktop versions
  • Automatic posting not working as expected
  • Issues with image/video quality and formatting

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Twitter threads
  • Improve visual planning and calendar view
  • Integrate with more platforms like Slack and Discord
  • Allow more customization and control over posts
  • Provide better analytics and performance insights

Toot! for Mastodon

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Sharing/uploading images sometimes fails
  • Notifications not always working as expected
  • Pinned hashtags not fully functional
  • Issues with loading older posts in timelines

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to follow and view hashtags
  • Improve media viewing experience (video controls, GIF support, etc.)
  • Provide more accessibility options (text size, reduced motion, etc.)
  • Integrate reporting/moderation features
  • Add keyboard shortcuts for power users

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Buffer

Subscriptions11
  • Essentials - 1 Channel$5.991 Month
  • Essentials+Team: 1 Channel$11.991 Month
  • Essentials - 2 Channels$11.991 Month
Show 8 more
  • Pro for 1 Month2 variants$14.991 Month
  • Essentials - 3 Channels$17.991 Month
  • Essentials - 4 Channels$23.991 Month
  • Essentials - 5 Channels$29.991 Month
  • Essentials - 6 Channels$35.991 Month
  • Small Business$99.991 Month
  • Small Business for 1 Month$99.991 Month
  • Pro for 1 Year$144.991 Year
2 purchases

Toot! for Mastodon

One-time2
  • Toot! for Men$1.99
  • Toot! is too cheap$5.99

Questions

Is Buffer free?
Buffer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Toot! for Mastodon free?
Toot! for Mastodon costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Buffer or Toot! for Mastodon?
Buffer is rated higher. Buffer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34K ratings, while Toot! for Mastodon averages 4.3 from 381 ratings.
Do Buffer or Toot! for Mastodon have ads?
Neither Buffer nor Toot! for Mastodon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Buffer or Toot! for Mastodon?
Buffer ships an update weekly, and Toot! for Mastodon fortnightly. Most recently, Buffer was updated on September 28, 2026 and Toot! for Mastodon on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Buffer or Toot! for Mastodon?
Buffer currently peaks at #144 in the App Store charts, and Toot! for Mastodon at #72. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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