Twitter Rival Mastodon Sees Surge in Monthly Active Users

Mastodon, an open-source rival to Twitter, has experienced a significant increase in monthly active users. According to the founder and CEO Eugen Rochko, Mastodon now boasts 2.1 million monthly active users, approaching its previous peak of 2.5 million. Before Elon Musk took ownership of Twitter, Mastodon had only around 300,000 monthly active users.

Tied to Twitter’s Missteps

Mastodon’s growth seems to be closely linked to Twitter’s actions, particularly its missteps. After Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, long-time users rebelled against the changes made to their favorite microblogging site. This led to many users testing out Mastodon as an alternative. However, not all stayed with Mastodon, causing a drop in monthly active users from the peak of 2.5 million to 1.7 million at the beginning of this month. Some users may have also migrated to other Twitter alternatives that emerged, such as Bluesky, T2, Spill, Post, and more.

Momentum Behind ActivityPub

The renewed interest in ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol powering Mastodon and other apps, might be contributing to Mastodon’s recent growth. Meta’s Instagram Threads, a recently launched Twitter rival, has committed to integrating with ActivityPub, raising awareness about Mastodon and decentralized social networking in general.

Frustration with Twitter Limitations

Musk’s decision to limit the number of tweets viewable by users and subscribers on Twitter could also be driving users to Mastodon. This unusual product decision, aimed at combating bots and spam, restricts users from accessing content on the platform. Such limitations are typically only applied to backend systems, not end-users.

Improved User Experience

Mastodon’s growth can be attributed in part to the availability of polished third-party clients that simplify and enhance the user experience. Former Twitter third-party app makers have developed Mastodon clients like Ivory by Tapbots, Woolly (inspired by TweetDeck), and Mammoth (created by the developer behind Aviary). Additional Mastodon apps such as Ice Cubes and Radiant have also been introduced. Furthermore, Mastodon’s official mobile app received a recent refresh, addressing pain points and offering more customization options.

Interest from Other Tech Companies

Mastodon has garnered interest from various tech companies, including WordPress, which acquired a plugin enabling WordPress blogs to feed into Mastodon. Medium launched its own Mastodon server, while Flipboard integrated with the network in its social reading app, established its own server, and is actively working to integrate with ActivityPub.