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Mastodon vs Farcaster: catalog facts
Mastodon	Farcaster
Free Free and open source under the AGPL. Hosting is separate.	Free No price is listed for signing up or using the app.
Android, Web, Self-hosted	Android, iOS, Web
Chronological timelines with no engagement ranking Federated, so moving servers does not mean losing your network	Identity is owned by the user rather than the app Web, iOS and Android apps
Your experience depends heavily on which server you join Running a server has real moderation and maintenance cost	Signing up requires an email address or phone number Smaller audience than mainstream social networks
Self-hosted, Web application	Downloadable app, Web application
Open source	Closed source
License: AGPL-3.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.