Credits: Social Media
How much does Mastodon cost and which servers to join first?
The Twitter user exodus seems to have started, as users flock to alternative social media platforms like Mastodon in the wake of Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase. So, how much does joining Mastodon cost and which is the best server to get started?
The small social media platform has been around since 2016, but did not register on most people’s radars until Musk announced his intention to buy Twitter earlier this year.
Since the purchase was finalized on October 27, Mastodon has gained 230,000 new users, most of whom are looking for a new app that can scratch the same itch, minus the controversial product decisions, content moderation changes and increase in hateful posts.
And Mastodon though not anywhere near as influential as Twitter seems to fit the bill. If you’ve been thinking of joining too, here is what you need to know about Mastodon’s price, servers and who owns it.
What is Mastodon and who owns it?
Mastodon is an open-source microblogging platform developed by a non-profit run by creator Eugen Rochko and supported through crowdfunding on Patreon. Unlike Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, it is made up of many user-managed servers that interact with each other, but remain independent.
When getting started on Mastodon, users choose which servers to join or they can create their own. They typically have one server as their homebase, but can interact freely with others.
Most social media platforms, including Twitter, organize their content feeds algorithmically, not chronologically, which can let misinformation slip through or limit a creator’s exposure unless they pay a fee. Mastodon, on the other hand, uses a chronological feed, in which posts appear in the order they were created, and are limited to your follow list.
In other words, this makes a user’s feed less of a free-for-all grab for their attention. Sounds great, but what’s the catch? How much does Mastodon cost?
How much does joining Mastodon cost? Price tiers explored
Mastodon shares some important features with Twitter, which allow it to satisfy many of the same online communication needs. But cost isn’t one of them.
Just like Twitter, Mastodon has short, punchy text-forward posts and lets users tag others, share media and follow their favorite accounts. But unlike some parts of Twitter (looking at you, blue check mark), Mastodon doesn’t cost a thing.
Mastodon is free and lets users join as many servers as they want but the federated aspect of the platform allows communication between different servers anyway. However, for those wanting complete control over their social media presence, the price of Mastodon starts at $6/month to host your own server with about five active users on it.
Further pricing tiers include the $9/month Planet plan, which offers users control of four processing threads with 50 GB of media storage and an estimated 20 active users, and the $19/month Star plan, with six threads populated by 100 active users and supported by 100 GB of media. However, according to the Mastodon site, these plans appear to be currently unavailable.
Which servers to join first, from best to meh
Given its “fediverse” (meaning federated universe) format and low-to-no entry price, Mastodon is pretty easy to join. What many users can find overwhelming, however, is choosing which servers to get started with.
Don’t worry, Anne Applebaum, we’ve got you covered.
First of all, it’s important to note that each of Mastodon’s servers, due to being run independently, has its own regulations, content moderation rules, theme and lingo. There are currently ten big topics on the platform: General, Regional, Technology, LGBTQ+, Activism, Music, Gaming, Art, Food and Furry.
Along with these, there are fifty-five servers on Mastodon from which you can choose though as more users join, that number may go up. While it can be hard to know which to join first, it’s good to remember that there is no best server just ones that match your interests.
Still, these are some good Mastodon servers to get you started. For general servers, Dataconomy recommends mastodon.online, mas.to and mstdn.social, while mastodon.green has been dubbed the best regional one for Europe-based users.
More notable mentions include fosstodon.org for tech, mastodon.lol for LGBTQ+ topics, climatejustice.social for climate activism, ravenation.club for music discussion, gensokyo.social for gaming, mastodon.art which is kind of self-explanatory, hostux.social for beer and free software lovers, and meow.social for furries.
To move from one server to another without losing followers, users must register on the new server, in the menu, choose Account > Moving from another account, type in the previous account’s handle, on the old server, go to a different account under Account Access, and finally enter the handle of the new account before hitting Submit.
