Comparison

Oxpecker for Mastodon vs Bubble for Mastodon

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

Head to head
About

Oxpecker for Mastodon

This app provides a Mastodon client for Apple Watch, allowing users to browse timelines, view media, and create posts directly from their wrist. It supports custom emojis and link previews, with some features requiring a subscription.

Highlights
  • Standalone Apple Watch functionality
  • Custom emoji rendering
  • Media attachment viewing (images, video, GIFs, audio)
  • Link previews
  • Post creation
  • Timeline browsing (home, local, federated)
  • Poll reactions
Features
Read full description

Oxpeckers are small birds that hold symbiotic relationships with certain animals such as giraffes, buffalos and elephants... The app's named after the bird, as it pecks data on the federated elephant network, on the Apple Watch. Oxpecker is a new Mastodon client, designed for the Apple Watch. WORKS STANDALONE Oxpecker on the Apple Watch can work on its own, after the initial sign in via its companion iOS app. If you have a cellular plan, you can read and send Mastodon posts, just with the watch alone. CUSTOM EMOJIS Unlike other clients for the Apple Watch, Oxpecker supports rendering of custom emojis in posts, represented as :shortcode: in Mastodon, bringing you the full browsing experience, like never before on an Apple Watch. MEDIA CONTENT Oxpecker supports viewing of media attachments, such as images, video, GIFs and audio. Images can even be zoomed in and out, letting you see the details. Alt text can be read as well. If a post has more than one^ media attachments, Oxpecker displays it too. BROWSE LINKS Did your friend posted content with a link? Go ahead and click on it, to open a quick web preview to see what it’s about. CREATE POSTS^ Needed to make a quick post on the go? Type and send it, directly with Oxpecker. NOTIFICATIONS^ Fear of missing out? Fred not, as Oxpecker notifies you of the latest happenings of your Mastodon account, as it happens. DYNAMIC TYPE Prefer a larger font size, Oxpecker supports it. If necessary, Oxpecker goes one step further, by allowing you to scale the font size to your liking. SUPERIOR BROWSING With Oxpecker, you can browse your home, local and federated timelines, view user profiles, #hashtag timelines, prior notifications, and comments of each post. POLL REACTIONS Polls in posts are supported, letting you vote^ for your preferred option. MORE FOR THE FUTURE Oxpecker is planned with more features to come in the future, with the goal of matching feature sets similar to regular Mastodon clients. — ^Some features require an active subscription. With a subscription, you would be able to send posts, view more than the first media of every post, vote in polls, reply, repost, favourite or bookmark posts, enable notifications, future feature updates, as well as to support the development and maintenance efforts to keep Oxpecker going! — Note: In order to use Oxpecker without an iPhone in close proximity, a cellular-enabled Apple Watch is needed, with an active cellular plan and connection. App developed and designed in Singapore. Privacy Policy: https://oxpecker.social/privacy Terms (Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Bubble for Mastodon

A lightweight, user-friendly Mastodon client designed for a seamless experience. It offers essential features like content filtering, multiple timelines, and a rich post composer, with optional enhancements for power users.

Highlights
  • Powerful content filter
  • Multiple timeline views
  • Rich post composer
  • Grouped notifications
  • Attachment saving (Bubble+)
  • Multiple account support (Bubble+)
Features
Read full description

Bubble is a very simple native lightweight Mastodon client, that is meant to look soft and easy-to-use. It integrates perfectly with your Mastodon account, and matches your vibe, while having Mastodon-only features. Bubble also includes a ton of features you know and love: - A powerful content filter - Report user content - All of your favorite timelines: Home, Trending, Local, and Federated - Trending hashtags - A rich post composer with polls, emojis, and attachments - Suggestions - Grouped Notifications - A restricted user list Bubble+ also allows you to get a handful of useful features such as attachment saving, more accounts... And there is so much more to see! ==================================================== Bubble+ Terms of Service: https://d.lumaa.fr/tosplus Bubble is not affiliated with Mastodon gGmbH.

Screenshots

Oxpecker for Mastodon2 screens
Bubble for Mastodon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Oxpecker for Mastodon at 100% against Bubble for Mastodon's 50%. Oxpecker for Mastodon also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Bubble for Mastodon's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). 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. Oxpecker for Mastodon sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Bubble for Mastodon sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Oxpecker for Mastodon ships an update every 4 months, Bubble for Mastodon every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 22, 2026 and June 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Oxpecker for Mastodon versus Bubble for Mastodon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOxpecker for MastodonBubble for Mastodon
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB34 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperVincent NeoPhilippe Bondevine

Customer experience

Oxpecker for Mastodon

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bubble for Mastodon

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Oxpecker for Mastodon

Subscriptions2
  • Oxpecker for watchOS (Monthly)7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Oxpecker for watchOS (Annual)7 Days trial$6.991 Year
3 purchases

Bubble for Mastodon

Subscriptions3
  • Bubble+ • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Bubble+ • 3 Months$4.793 Months
  • Bubble+ • Yearly$17.991 Year

Questions

Is Oxpecker for Mastodon free?
Oxpecker for Mastodon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bubble for Mastodon free?
Bubble for Mastodon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Oxpecker for Mastodon or Bubble for Mastodon have ads?
Neither Oxpecker for Mastodon nor Bubble for Mastodon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Oxpecker for Mastodon or Bubble for Mastodon?
Oxpecker for Mastodon ships an update every 4 months, and Bubble for Mastodon every 3 weeks. Most recently, Oxpecker for Mastodon was updated on August 22, 2026 and Bubble for Mastodon on June 3, 2026.

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