Mastodon is an open-source and free self-hosted social networking system similar to Twitter, where people can use to share news and posts privately.

With Mastodon you can share text posts, images, audio and video posts, the same way as you do with Twitter. Moreover, you can add polls, and private content with warnings and embedded links and media.

In this post, you will find the best open-source and free Mastodon clients, for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS.

1. Elk

Elk is a free and open-source Mastodon web-client. It is built using Vue, and comes with a user-friendly responsive interface.

GitHub - elk-zone/elk: A nimble Mastodon web client
A nimble Mastodon web client. Contribute to elk-zone/elk development by creating an account on GitHub.

2. IceCubesApp (iOS, macOS)

IceCubesApp is a freature-rich open-source application for accessing the decentralized social network Mastodon. It is built in SwiftUI, making it fast, lightweight, and easy to use. The app allows users to connect to any Mastodon instance, browse timelines, interact with other users, and post updates and media.

It is multiplatform, working on iOS, macOS, and iPadOS, with a dedicated UI featuring a sidebar on macOS and iPadOS.

GitHub - Dimillian/IceCubesApp: A SwiftUI Mastodon client
A SwiftUI Mastodon client. Contribute to Dimillian/IceCubesApp development by creating an account on GitHub.

3. Ebou

Ebou is a cross-platform Mastodon client written in Rust that groups new toots by author and displays them in a UI similar to modern messengers. It also has a conversation view for seeing replies in context. While still experimental, missing features will be added over time.

Features

  • Timelines
  • Super Minimal Notifications (only Mentions and Ebou doesn’t remember which ones you already saw)
  • Posting (including Video / Image attachments via Dragging and Dropping images onto window)
  • Conversations in a nice nested tree view
  • Boost, favorite, reply, bookmark
  • Lists
  • Your favourites / bookmarks
  • Profiles
  • Settings
  • Minimal Search
  • Followers / Follows
  • Some settings

4. Tokodon

Tokodon is a free and open-source client for Mastodon and other decentralized servers that use its API, including Pixelfed.

Features

  • Real-time notifications, including background push notifications (using KUnifiedPush.)
  • Direct messages.
  • Editing & deleting toots.
  • Multiple accounts and cross-account actions.
  • Searching for users, hashtags and posts.
  • Moderation tools like viewing a server's accounts, email blocks and more.
GitHub - KDE/tokodon: Tokodon is a Mastodon client for Plasma and Plasma Mobile
Tokodon is a Mastodon client for Plasma and Plasma Mobile - KDE/tokodon

5. Mastodon for Android

This is the official Android app for Mastodon social network.

Mastodon | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Decentralized social network
Mastodon - Apps on Google Play
Where conversations happen

6. Mammut (Android)

This is a multi-account Mastodon client for Android with offline support, theming capabilities, and full support for custom emoji.

GitHub - jamiesanson/Mammut: An Android Client for Mastodon
An Android Client for Mastodon. Contribute to jamiesanson/Mammut development by creating an account on GitHub.

7. Semaphore (Web)

Semaphore is an accessible, simple, and fast web client for Mastodon. It can be found at semaphore.social, with beta releases at beta.semaphore.social. For updates and support, follow @[email protected]. Check the user guide for basic usage and the admin guide if Semaphore cannot connect to your instance.

GitHub - NickColley/semaphore: Accessible, simple and fast web client for Mastodon
Accessible, simple and fast web client for Mastodon - NickColley/semaphore

8. Metatext (iOS)

Metatext is an exceptional, free, and open-source iOS Mastodon client.

GitHub - metabolist/metatext: A free, open-source iOS Mastodon client.
A free, open-source iOS Mastodon client. Contribute to metabolist/metatext development by creating an account on GitHub.
‎Metatext
‎Metatext is a free, modern, open source, and accessible Mastodon client. Features: - Multiple accounts: You can add multiple accounts and even use several accounts simultaneously with iPad multitasking. - Emoji: Metatext has a searchable custom emoji picker and supports animated custom emoji. -…

9. Tut - a Mastodon TUI

Tut is a Mastodon TUI (Text User Interface) inspired by vim, offering features similar to the web client. Use 'C' to create a new toot and 'N' to view notifications.

GitHub - RasmusLindroth/tut: TUI for Mastodon with vim inspired keys
TUI for Mastodon with vim inspired keys. Contribute to RasmusLindroth/tut development by creating an account on GitHub.

10. Shitter (Android)

This is another Lightweight Android app for Mastodon.

Features

  • access to posts, users, lists and trending hashtags
  • real timelines (chronological/reverse chronological order)
  • customizable theme (colors and fonts)
  • push notification support (unifiedpush)
  • multi account support
  • Proxy support

Download

Shitter | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Lightweight Mastodon client
GitHub - nuclearfog/Shitter: Lightweight Android app for Mastodon
Lightweight Android app for Mastodon. Contribute to nuclearfog/Shitter development by creating an account on GitHub.

11. Gakki

Gakki is a third-party client of Mastodon developed using React Native (currently only available for Android).

GitHub - shuiRong/Gakki: 🌼🌸 A React Native App for Mastodon. 一个由React Native编写的长毛象客户端App🦋
🌼🌸 A React Native App for Mastodon. 一个由React Native编写的长毛象客户端App🦋 - shuiRong/Gakki

12. Gomphotherium

Gomphotherium is a command line Mastodon client that offers a CLI and TUI interface. It is designed to be used within tmux as a sidebar-style program and is open to accepting PRs for contributions and maintenance support.

Platforms

  • Windows
  • Linux
  • macOS
GitHub - mrusme/gomphotherium: Gomphotherium (/ˌɡɒmfəˈθɪəriəm/; “welded beast”), a command line Mastodon client.
Gomphotherium (/ˌɡɒmfəˈθɪəriəm/; “welded beast”), a command line Mastodon client. - mrusme/gomphotherium

13. Toot (CLI)

Toot is a powerful command-line and TUI tool designed for seamless interaction with Mastodon instances.

GitHub - ihabunek/toot: toot - Mastodon CLI & TUI
toot - Mastodon CLI & TUI. Contribute to ihabunek/toot development by creating an account on GitHub.

14. Mastodon for iOS

Official iOS app for Mastodon

‎Mastodon for iPhone and iPad
‎Mastodon is the largest decentralized social network on the internet. Instead of a single website, it’s a network of millions of users in independent communities that can all interact with one another, seamlessly. No matter what you’re into, you can meet passionate people posting about it on Mastodo…
GitHub - mastodon/mastodon-ios: Official iOS app for Mastodon
Official iOS app for Mastodon. Contribute to mastodon/mastodon-ios development by creating an account on GitHub.

15. DOStodon

DOStodon is a Mastodon client for MS-DOS implemented in Javascript. It requires a VM, real hardware, or DOSBox-staging with a network card and a matching packet driver to run. A Pentium 133 or faster with at least 32MiB of RAM is recommended.

The app can be installed for Windows, Linux and macOS.

GitHub - SuperIlu/DOStodon: MS-DOS Mastodon client
MS-DOS Mastodon client. Contribute to SuperIlu/DOStodon development by creating an account on GitHub.

16. TheDesk

TheDesk is a free and open-source Mastodon client for PC that offers numerous features for Windows, Linux, macOS, and the web.

GitHub - cutls/TheDesk: Mastodon Client for PC.
Mastodon Client for PC. Contribute to cutls/TheDesk development by creating an account on GitHub.
TheDesk - Mastodon Client for PC

17. SubwayTooter (Android)

SubwayTooter is a free and open-source Mastodon client app for Android phone/tablet.

Features

  • Multiple account
  • Multiple column with freely rearrangement
  • Pseudo account that can read instance timeline without login
  • Cross account action that can fav/boost/reply toots or follow users over accounts/instances
  • Emoji same glyphs as the PC browser version
  • Custom emoji fully supported
  • Tablet mode that shows multiple columns at once
  • Many filters media TL, app mute, word mute, regex filter, etc.
  • Auto CW that folds very long texts automatically
  • Push notification (Google Play service required. if not found, this app uses pull notification 15 min period.)
  • Relatively fast support for Mastodon's new feature
GitHub - tateisu/SubwayTooter: Mastodon client app for Android
Mastodon client app for Android. Contribute to tateisu/SubwayTooter development by creating an account on GitHub.

18. Next Mastodon

Next Mastodon is an impressive self-hosted web-based Mastodon client developed using the powerful Next.js framework and the reliable Vercel platform.

GitHub - jibla/next-mastodon: building a Mastodon client using Next.js and Vercel - exploring and learning the fediverse.
building a Mastodon client using Next.js and Vercel - exploring and learning the fediverse. - jibla/next-mastodon

19. Sweetfish

Sweetfish is a Mastodon client for X11/Linux, based on the fork from Salmon. It uses Qt5 as a framework and can potentially be built and run on macOS, BSD, or Windows. The software is licensed under LGPLv3.

GitHub - PG-MANA/Sweetfish: The Mastodon client for Linux with Qt
The Mastodon client for Linux with Qt. Contribute to PG-MANA/Sweetfish development by creating an account on GitHub.