shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Mastodon hosted on mastodon.social?

The original server of Mastodon, operated by Mastodon GmbH for the common good. - mastodon.social

Depends. Join if you are an individual who wants a free, ad-free fediverse home and tolerates quirks and self-serve support. Skip it if you need reach, analytics, guaranteed uptime, or help when things break.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 16 public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so user quotes could not be extracted verbatim.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

mastodon.social account

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Individuals leaving ad-driven networks
  • Tech-comfortable early adopters
  • Privacy-conscious posters
  • Communities wanting nonprofit-run hosting

Not for

  • Brands needing analytics, reach, or managed support
  • Anyone unwilling to pick a server and learn fediverse quirks
  • Users needing strong full-text search and algorithmic feeds
  • Teams wanting SLAs or guaranteed uptime

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Guess: Switching servers moves followers only — posts and history don't transfer.

medium

Trustpilot users report poor support experiences; no official support channel exists.

medium

Free service runs on donations; capacity and long-term costs depend on goodwill.

medium

Guess: Full-text search arrived late; search and discovery remain weaker than rivals.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Completely free to join and use
  • 500-character default posts beat shorter limits elsewhere
  • Federated: follow and interact with people across servers
  • Run by Mastodon GmbH for the common good, not advertisers

Cons

  • Trustpilot rating just 2.2/5 across 19 reviews
  • 2026 authentication-bypass vulnerability in Mastodon
  • 2023 critical flaw could allow server takeover
  • Decentralization criticized as incomplete; concentrates users
  • Moderation quality is contested by users

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 13 sources - Several patched CVEs, including a 2023 server-takeover flaw and a 2026 auth bypass; no dedicated security page found.

official x2review x5security x4news x2
  • CVE-2026-25540 — Authentication bypass, Auth bypass vulnerability in Mastodon, published February 6, 2026.
  • CVE-2026-41259, Mastodon vulnerability listed in NVD, dated April 23, 2026.
  • 2023 critical server-takeover vulnerability, Critical vulnerability could allow takeover of Mastodon servers, reported July 2023.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free to join, donation-funded, no ads
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Newcomer onboarding widely reported as confusing
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Solid core posting; search and discovery lag rivals
  • Support quality: 2/5. No official support; 2.2/5 Trustpilot
  • Security posture: 2/5. Recent auth-bypass CVE; no public security page
  • 4.6/5 Product Hunt rating 12 reviews
  • 2.2/5 Trustpilot rating 19 reviews
  • Free Starting price Donation-funded operation
  • Mastodon GmbH Operator Nonprofit, flagship fediverse server

Pricing

mastodon.social account

$0

  • Full posting, federation, and timelines
  • No ads; donation-funded operation

Security

Several patched CVEs, including a 2023 server-takeover flaw and a 2026 auth bypass; no dedicated security page found.

  • CVE-2026-25540 — Authentication bypassAuth bypass vulnerability in Mastodon, published February 6, 2026.⁶
  • CVE-2026-41259Mastodon vulnerability listed in NVD, dated April 23, 2026.⁷
  • 2023 critical server-takeover vulnerabilityCritical vulnerability could allow takeover of Mastodon servers, reported July 2023.⁸

What users say

Ratings split sharply: 4.6/5 on Product Hunt (12 reviews) versus 2.2/5 on Trustpilot (19 reviews), with recurring debate over moderation and decentralization.

Alternatives

Compare Mastodon hosted on mastodon.social with each alternative.

  • Bluesky

    Simpler onboarding; the migration destination many fediverse guides address

  • A smaller Mastodon server

    Themed communities with closer moderation than the flagship

  • X (Twitter)

    Maximum reach; the ad-driven model many Mastodon users left

Companies that use it

  • CVE Program
Full analysis

Based on 16 public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so user quotes could not be extracted verbatim.

Free, ad-free, nonprofit-run social server — but confusing onboarding, thin support, and recent CVEs. Fine for tinkerers, not for brands.

Methodology

Based on 16 public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so user quotes could not be extracted verbatim.

Sources

  1. Read Customer Service Reviews of mastodon.social - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  2. Mastodon Reviews (2026) - Product Huntproducthunt.com
    review
  3. Opinions on Mastodon - Redditreddit.com
    review
  4. Social network review: Mastodon (2025 edition) - Diverse Tech Geekdiversetechgeek.com
    review
  5. I Was Wrong About Mastodon - Marcus Hutchinsmarcushutchins.com
    review
  6. CVE-2026-25540: Mastodon Auth Bypass Vulnerability - SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  7. CVE-2026-41259 Detail - NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  8. Critical Vulnerability Can Allow Takeover of Mastodon Servers - SecurityWeeksecurityweek.com
    security
  9. Security page - mastodon.socialmastodon.social
    security
  10. About - Mastodonmastodon.social
    official
  11. Mastodon - Decentralized social mediajoinmastodon.org
    official
  12. Mastodon 500-character limit - Hacker Newsnews.ycombinator.com
    news
  13. Who pays for Mastodon servers? - TidBITS Talktalk.tidbits.com
    news

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