head to head · open source
Mastodon vs RedReader
Mastodon has 50,299 GitHub stars, 7,498 forks, 4,525 open issues and last shipped yesterday. RedReader has 2,661 stars, 526 forks, 457 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Mastodon leads on adoption by 1,790% (50,299 vs 2,661 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 | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.5K | ⑂ 526 |
| 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
Mastodon is a free, open source, self hosted social network server built on ActivityPub that lets anyone run a microblogging community which interoperates with the wider Fediverse, and it is aimed at individuals, communities, and organisations that want to own their social graph instead of renting it from a platform.
read the full Mastodon overview →
About RedReader
RedReader is an unofficial open source Android application for Reddit, listed under Community & Social / Social Networking. The project is written in Java and released under the GPL 3.0 license. It lives in the Android ecosystem and targets Reddit, with topics that include android, android app, android application, and reddit.
read the full RedReader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mastodon or RedReader more popular?
Mastodon has 50,299 GitHub stars and RedReader has 2,661. 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 (50,299 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.