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https://github.com/davidanson/twitter-alternatives

A Practical Comparison of Mastodon and Micro.blog
https://github.com/davidanson/twitter-alternatives

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A Practical Comparison of Mastodon and Micro.blog

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# A Practical Comparison of Mastodon and Micro.blog

Many of us are [looking at Twitter alternatives](https://birchtree.me/blog/the-struggle-for-twitter-alternatives/) and there are two services that stand out: **Micro.blog** and **Mastodon**.

These services take different approaches, so choosing one is challenging.
This page highlights some of the differences and is meant for non-nerds who don't want to get bogged down by implementation details.
Every attempt has been made to be accurate, but some technical details are deliberately glossed over.

> For more about similar services, see the [Comparison of microblogging services on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_microblogging_services)

| | Mastodon | Micro.blog
--|----------|-----------
Web site | |
Sales pitch | "Social networking, back in your hands. Follow friends and discover new ones. Publish anything you want: links, pictures, text, video. All on a platform that is community-owned and ad-free." | "A network of independent microblogs. Short posts like tweets but on your own web site that you control. Micro.blog is a safe community for microblogs. A timeline to follow friends and discover new posts. Blog hosting built on open standards."
Best price | Free | [Free, but requires a separate blog for posting](https://help.micro.blog/2018/setting-up-wordpress/)
Actual price | Free | [$5 per month, no blog needed](https://help.micro.blog/2018/pricing/)
Harassment and abuse | |
Code of conduct | Depends on the server ([Example](https://mastodon.social/about/more)) |
Privacy policy | Depends on the server |
Hashtags in posts | Yes | [No](https://help.micro.blog/2018/twitter-differences/)
Replies handled differently | No | [Yes](https://help.micro.blog/2018/replies-and-mentions/)
Able to export content | [Yes](https://github.com/tootsuite/documentation/blob/d695ea1f135e56b02264c3a918017079ce4a0f10/Using-Mastodon/FAQ.md#can-i-save-my-data) | [Yes](https://help.micro.blog/2018/replies-and-mentions/)
Cross-posting to Twitter | No | [Yes, with a $2/month or $5/month subscription](https://help.micro.blog/faq/)
Import Twitter friends | [Yes](https://bridge.joinmastodon.org) | No
Official iOS or Android app | No | [iOS only](https://help.micro.blog/2017/micropub-clients/)
Official Mac or Windows app | No | [Mac only](https://help.micro.blog/2017/mac-version/)
Third-party clients | [Yes](https://github.com/tootsuite/documentation/blob/master/Using-Mastodon/Apps.md) | [Yes](https://help.micro.blog/2017/micropub-clients/)
Security | User name + password ([2FA is optional](https://github.com/tootsuite/documentation/blob/master/Using-Mastodon/2FA.md)) | [Email address only](https://micro.blog/DavidAnson/794416)

> Deliberately omitted from above: User counts, open source status, federation details

I'm not part of either project, so there may be mistakes in the table above.
That's why this is on GitHub - please [open an issue](https://github.com/DavidAnson/Twitter-Alternatives/issues) or [send a pull request](https://github.com/DavidAnson/Twitter-Alternatives/pulls) to correct any problems you find.
If you are adding content, please do so for both platforms and link to your sources.

For other questions or to start a discussion, contact me on:

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