Comparison

Sabertooth for Mastodon vs Pheme for Mastodon

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

Head to head
About

Sabertooth for Mastodon

Access the decentralized fediverse social network, connecting with users across different servers. Share photos, videos, and posts, and discover new communities. Customize your experience with content warnings and blocking tools.

Highlights
  • Access the fediverse
  • Connect across instances
  • Share photos and videos
  • Explore public timelines
  • Content warnings
  • Muting and blocking
Read full description

Sabertooth puts the power of the fediverse social network in your hand. Access a universe of user-created content and join the decentralized conversation from anywhere. Connect with friends near and far by following users across instance boundaries. Share your perspective through photos, videos, and short-form posting. Discover new voices and communities by exploring public timelines. Customize your experience with content warnings, muting, and blocking. Stay in control of your digital life. Harness the strength of open protocols and ethical design. Sabertooth allows you to tap into the fediverse and join the Mastodon social network through an intuitive, cross-device experience. The future of social media, in your hand. What is the Fediverse? The fediverse is a network of decentralized, interoperable social media servers. Each server runs open source software that implements shared protocols like ActivityPub. This enables users on different servers to follow each other and interact across the fediverse.

About

Pheme for Mastodon

This app provides a smooth and responsive way to interact with the Fediverse. It offers a distraction-free experience for viewing timelines, posting, and managing your profile. Advanced features include multi-account support and customizable appearance options.

Highlights
  • Live-updating timeline
  • Post interactions (like, boost, reply)
  • Media viewer with zoom
  • Search posts and users
  • Customizable lists
  • Real-time push notifications
  • Multi-account support
Features
Read full description

Pheme is a third-party Mastodon client for the Fediverse, built entirely with native UIKit for a smooth, responsive, and distraction-free experience. TIMELINE Live-updating home timeline with infinite scrolling. Smart reading position preservation — picks up exactly where you left off after a refresh. Unread count badge so you always know what's new. Switch between Local and Federated timelines to explore the broader Fediverse. POSTS & INTERACTIONS Like, Boost, Reply, and Bookmark in one tap. Quote Post support for rich commentary. Full Poll display and participation. Content Warnings — elegantly collapsed and expandable. Link preview cards for rich external content. System translation for posts in any language. MEDIA Image viewer with pinch-to-zoom, swipe to dismiss, and save to Photos. Inline video playback with fullscreen support. Smooth GIF and animated media rendering. Full custom emoji support for every server. SEARCH & DISCOVERY Search posts, users, and hashtags. Explore page with featured instances to discover new communities across the Fediverse. LISTS Create, edit, and delete custom lists. Manage list members with ease. Dedicated list timeline view. NOTIFICATIONS Real-time push notifications: follows, mentions, likes, boosts. Follow request management for private accounts. PROFILE View and edit avatar, display name, bio, and custom fields. Browse your own and others' posts, media, and replies. Follow / Unfollow with mutual follow indicator. MULTI-ACCOUNT Log into multiple accounts across different Mastodon instances. Seamlessly switch between accounts with fully isolated data. PHEME PRO — PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION Subscribe to Pheme Pro to unlock the full Pheme experience: Custom Accent Colors: Full custom color picker. Custom Fonts: Set individual fonts for titles, body text, and monospace elements. Appearance Mode: Light, Dark, or System. Avatar Style: Circular or square. Compose & Post: Write and publish your thoughts to Mastodon. Full Interaction Access: Boost, quote, reply, like, bookmark, follow/unfollow. List Management: Create and manage custom lists. Plans: Weekly / Monthly / Yearly (best value). Subscriptions auto-renew 24 hours before expiry. Cancel anytime in App Store subscription settings. PRIVACY FIRST Pheme communicates directly with your chosen Mastodon instance — no third-party relay servers. Your credentials are stored securely in the device Keychain and never shared with third parties. Join the Fediverse. Start your decentralized social journey with Pheme. -- Subscription Details -- • Weekly, monthly and annual subscriptions are available • Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase • Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period • Automatic renewals will be charged at the same price you were originally charged for the subscription • Subscriptions can be managed or cancelled by going to Account Settings on the App Store after purchase Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pheme.pureding.org/privacy

Screenshots

Sabertooth for Mastodon4 screens
Pheme for Mastodon3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pheme for Mastodon at 5.0 against Sabertooth for Mastodon's 4.0. Sabertooth for Mastodon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Pheme for Mastodon sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Sabertooth for Mastodon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pheme for Mastodon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sabertooth for Mastodon ships an update weekly, Pheme for Mastodon every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sabertooth for Mastodon versus Pheme for Mastodon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSabertooth for MastodonPheme for Mastodon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB17 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMahan Rahmati恒敏 吴

Customer experience

Sabertooth for Mastodon

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Pheme for Mastodon

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Sabertooth for Mastodon

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Pheme for Mastodon

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Plan$0.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan14 Days trial$5.991 Year

Questions

Is Sabertooth for Mastodon free?
Sabertooth for Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pheme for Mastodon free?
Pheme for Mastodon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sabertooth for Mastodon or Pheme for Mastodon?
Pheme for Mastodon is rated higher. Sabertooth for Mastodon averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Pheme for Mastodon averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Sabertooth for Mastodon or Pheme for Mastodon have ads?
Neither Sabertooth for Mastodon nor Pheme for Mastodon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sabertooth for Mastodon or Pheme for Mastodon?
Sabertooth for Mastodon ships an update weekly, and Pheme for Mastodon every 5 days. Most recently, Sabertooth for Mastodon was updated on November 4, 2026 and Pheme for Mastodon on November 5, 2026.

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