head to head · open source
Mastodon vs RedReader
Mastodon has 50,465 GitHub stars, 7,536 forks, 4,525 open issues and last shipped yesterday. RedReader has 2,716 stars, 533 forks, 457 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. Mastodon leads on adoption by 1,758% (50,465 vs 2,716 stars). Mastodon is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0; RedReader is written in Java under GPL-3.0. Mastodon has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, RedReader 20%. Mastodon was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Mastodon | RedReader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.5K | ⑂ 533 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mastodon if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick RedReader if
- You want the RedReader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and RedReader fits your workflow better
About Mastodon
[!NOTE] Want to learn more about Mastodon? Click below to find out more in a video. Mastodon is a free, open source social network server based on ActivityPub where users can follow friends and discover new ones. On Mastodon, users can publish anything they want: links, pictures, text, and video. All Mastodon servers are interoperable as a federated network (users on one server can seamlessly communicate with users from another one, including non Mastodon software that implements ActivityPub!) Navigation Project homepage 🐘 Donate to support development 🎁 View sponsors Blog 📰 Documentation 📚 Official…
read the full Mastodon overview →
About RedReader
RedReader ========= An unofficial, open source Android client for Reddit. Features Free and open source, with no ads or tracking Lightweight and fast Swipe posts left and right to perform customizable actions, such as upvote/downvote, or save/hide Advanced cache management automatically stores past versions of posts and comments Support for multiple accounts Two column tablet mode (can be used on your phone, if it’s big enough) Image and comment precaching (optional: always, never, or Wi Fi only) Built in image viewer, and GIF/video player Multiple themes, including night mode, and ultra black for AMOLED…
read the full RedReader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mastodon or RedReader more popular?
Mastodon has 50,465 GitHub stars and RedReader has 2,716. Mastodon has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mastodon and RedReader free?
Both are open source. Mastodon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and RedReader under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mastodon and RedReader?
Mastodon is written in Ruby and RedReader in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Mastodon or RedReader?
Choose Mastodon if you want the larger community (50,465 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose RedReader if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.