Mastodon

What Mastodon does

Mastodon GmbH is a Berlin-headquartered nonprofit organization that develops and operates a decentralized, open-source social networking platform built on the ActivityPub protocol. Founded in 2016 by Eugen Rochko and incorporated as a gGmbH with a parallel US 501(c)(3) entity (Mastodon, Inc., New York), the organization employs approximately 18 people and serves three primary customer segments: individual consumers seeking ad-free, algorithm-free alternatives to Twitter/X; creators, journalists, and media organizations building portable audiences; and 100+ institutional customers including government agencies and public-sector organizations requiring GDPR-compliant managed hosting.

The core product is free, open-source Ruby on Rails software that enables anyone to operate an independent server (instance) interoperating with others via ActivityPub to form the global Fediverse. The company supplements the self-hosted software with official iOS and Android apps, a Progressive Web App, and managed hosting services offered either as an All-in-One Managed Service or as modular Single Service options (hosting, moderation, or support). Recent product work in 2025–2026 includes Mastodon 4.5 quote posts, a March 2026 profile redesign, and the June 2026 Mastodon 4.6 release adding email newsletter functionality, the Collections feature inspired by Bluesky's Starter Packs, and administrator two-factor authentication controls. End-to-end encryption for private messages is in development with a 2027 target.

Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) individual donations via Patreon, Stripe, and tax-deductible channels routed through Mastodon, Inc. and the German fiscal host WE AID gGmbH; (2) managed hosting services for large organizations requiring infrastructure management, moderation, and compliance; and (3) government grants, most notably a €614,000 award from Germany's Sovereign Tech Agency in April 2026 funding encryption, shared blocklists, and anti-spam development. As of June 2026, the platform hosted approximately 723,000 monthly active users across 7,900 federated servers — down from a November 2022 peak exceeding 2 million MAUs following Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition. In November 2025 the organization transitioned to a board-governed nonprofit foundation structure, with founder Eugen Rochko stepping down as CEO and Felix Hlatky appointed Executive Director across restructured US, Germany, and Belgium operations.

Name

Mastodon

Legal name

Mastodon GmbH

Website

https://joinmastodon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mastodon is a Berlin-based nonprofit operating a decentralized, open-source social networking platform built on the ActivityPub protocol. It serves individual users, creators, journalists, and 100+ institutional clients through managed hosting, monetizing via donations, hosting services, and government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Individual Contributions: Direct donations from individuals through Patreon, Stripe, and other channels. Tax-deductible donations for US residents through Mastodon Inc (501c3) and German donors through WE AID gGmbH fiscal host.
2. Institutional Hosting Services: Managed hosting services for large organizations including infrastructure, security, backups, updates, moderation, and legal compliance. Offered as All-in-One Managed Service or Single Service options.
3. Government Grants: Funding from government initiatives like Germany's Sovereign Tech Agency (€614,000 for encryption features) supporting open-source development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mastodon provides free, open-source decentralized social networking software built on the ActivityPub protocol, enabling individuals and organizations to run independent servers that interoperate to form a global social network (the Fediverse). The organization also offers official iOS and Android mobile apps, a Progressive Web App, and fully managed hosting services for large institutions and governments, including infrastructure, security, backups, updates, moderation, and legal takedowns available as all-in-one or modular single-service offerings.

Product overview

Mastodon offers a decentralized social media platform built on open-source software. The core offering is the Mastodon software itself, which is free and open-source, enabling anyone to run their own server. The company provides official iOS and Android mobile apps for user access, along with a Progressive Web App for browser-based usage. For organisations, Mastodon offers managed hosting services that include infrastructure management, moderation, and support, available as either comprehensive all-in-one packages or modular single services. The platform operates on the ActivityPub protocol, enabling interoperability with other Fediverse services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mastodon Software Free, open-source decentralized social media software that enables users to run their own servers (instances) interoperating with others via ActivityPub to form a global social network. Targeted at individual users, server operators, and developer communities.
• Official Mobile Apps (iOS and Android) Official native Mastodon applications for iPhone and Android devices providing access to the decentralized social network via the App Store and Google Play.
• Progressive Web App Browser-based Mastodon experience that can be added to a device home screen with push notification support comparable to native apps.
• Managed Mastodon Hosting Fully managed Mastodon hosting service for large organizations, including infrastructure, security, backups, updates, moderation, and legal takedowns. Offered as All-in-One Managed Service for complete outsourcing or Single Service for selective support. Targeted at governments, public institutions, and enterprises.

Quantifiable outcome

• 723K monthly active users across 7.9K servers (June 2026)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• European CommissionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Commission runs an official Mastodon server to broaden public engagement across the Fediverse, support European open-source platforms, and provide a privacy-focused channel for official communications.
• Schleswig-Holstein (German State)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman state launched social.schleswig-holstein.de — an official Mastodon server open to state administrations, public-sector companies, and non-profits in the region to strengthen public digital services and local collaboration.
• AltStoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership announced for bringing Mastodon to AltStore platform. Announcement from AltStore team coming with more details.
• European Cloud Providers CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMastodon signed letter alongside 12 other European cloud providers (including OVHcloud, Nextcloud, Proton, Ecosia, QuantWare) backing EU cloud sovereignty to end reliance on US hyperscalers. Supports broader digital sovereignty goals.
• Social Web FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on ActivityPub standard development, with end-to-end encryption work coordinated with the Foundation's standards efforts. Technology developed will be available to the broader Fediverse ecosystem.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Threads (Meta): Meta's text-first social network that has integrated ActivityPub federation. A much larger, well-resourced incumbent pursuing the same decentralised conversation space Mastodon targets.
• X (formerly Twitter): The incumbent social network Mastodon was explicitly created as an alternative to. Mastodon's user growth, including the 2022 peak, has consistently correlated with X's product and policy controversies.

Others

• Tumblr: Long-running social platform that has explored ActivityPub federation. Comparable in audience overlap (creators, communities) and in signalling around interoperability with the Fediverse, though not a direct competitor.
• Element (Matrix): Decentralised, open-source communications platform built on the Matrix protocol. Comparable to Mastodon in values (decentralisation, open standards, E2E encryption) and overlap with EU institutional buyers, but focused on messaging rather than microblogging.

Direct peers

• Bluesky: Decentralised social network positioning itself as a Twitter alternative. Most direct competitor to Mastodon in the at-protocol level, with Bluesky using the AT Protocol rather than ActivityPub; recent product moves (Starter Packs) have directly triggered Mastodon feature releases.
• GNU social: Older federated social networking platform using the OStatus and ActivityPub standards. A direct technological peer, though with a much smaller user base than Mastodon.
• Misskey: Federated microblogging platform built on ActivityPub, closely comparable in functionality and target user. A direct technological peer within the Fediverse, popular in Japan.
• Pleroma / Akkoma: ActivityPub-based federated microblogging server software, comparable in purpose and architecture to Mastodon and often deployed as an alternative instance platform within the Fediverse.
• Diaspora: One of the earliest decentralised social networks, with similar values-driven, user-controlled architecture. Comparable to Mastodon in mission and federated model, though significantly smaller in scale.

Emerging players

• Post.news: Decentralised social platform positioning itself around news and conversation. Comparable to Mastodon's audience of journalists and creators, though smaller in scale and more US-centric.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/joinmastodon
• GitHubgithub.com/mastodon
• Facebookfacebook.com/mastodonsocialnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/joinmastodon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mastodon