🐘

Mastodon

Free

The federated open-source Twitter alternative. No algorithms, no ads, no tracking. Choose your server or run your own. Over 10 million users across thousands of independent instances.

Catalogued April 15, 2026 · Curated by PWA Directory team

Open App

🐘Mastodon

joinmastodon.org

Mastodon, as it opens in a browser tab.

Online Only

Installable

Cross-Platform

✓

Free

Not sure how to add Mastodon to your home screen? Step-by-step for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge — it takes about ten seconds, and there is no app store involved.

Own Mastodon? Have us re-run this measurement — we open it in a real browser, cut the network, and send you what survived.

How to install Mastodon as a PWA

Chrome / Edge

Menu (⋮) → Add to Home screen

Safari (iOS)

Share (↑) → Add to Home Screen

Firefox

Menu (⋮) → Install

Screenshots

Are you the maker of Mastodon? Claim this listing →

Mastodon in our guides

Can You Install Mastodon as an App on Your Phone or Desktop?Yes, you can install Mastodon as an app from your browser, but it needs a connection to work. A mastodon app install uses the PWA route: open your server's web address in a supported browser and choose the install or add-to-home-screen option. Mastodon's web interface does not work offline, so you still need a connection to read or post. Choose your server first, because your account lives there.Read the answer →

Social & Communication PWAs — Free, Federated Chat and Social ToolsElement, Mastodon, Pixelfed and PeerTube are free, installable, open-source tools for encrypted messaging and federated social networking. Element carries Matrix-based end-to-end encrypted chat across self-hostable servers. Mastodon and Pixelfed share the ActivityPub protocol for microblogging and photo sharing, so a Mastodon follower can see a Pixelfed post directly. PeerTube extends the same federated approach to video hosting. None of the four list offline support.Read the answer →

Similar to Mastodon

PeerTube

A free software to take back control of your videos! With more than 600,000 hosted videos, viewed more than 70 millions times and 150,000 users, PeerTube is the decentralized free software alternative to videos platforms developed by Framasoft

Pixelfed

Federated, open-source Instagram alternative. Chronological feed, no algorithmic manipulation, no ads. Part of the Fediverse — compatible with Mastodon and other ActivityPub apps. Following someone on Mastodon works from here directly, since both speak the same ActivityPub protocol.

Element

Matrix-based secure messaging — the open-source Slack/Discord alternative. Decentralized, self-hostable, end-to-end encrypted. Your messages are never locked in a corporate server. Because Matrix is federated, two people on different servers can talk without either joining the other's platform.

Nostter

A clean Nostr protocol client. Nostr is a censorship-resistant, decentralized social network where you own your keys and identity. No company can delete your account.

Fastmail

Fast, reliable, privacy-respecting email and calendar. Australian company, GDPR-compliant, no ads. A premium alternative to Gmail for those who want email that works for them. It supports custom domains and standard IMAP, so leaving later does not mean losing the address or the archive.

Emberclear

End-to-end encrypted multi-device chat built on the Nostr protocol. Messages only decrypt on your device. Open-source, no server-side data, fully auditable. Keys never leave the browser, which means losing the device means losing the history — by design.

See all Social & Communication PWAs →

Own a PWA? See the listing options — standard submission is free.