The Best Open Source X AlternativesTop Social Networks & Microblogs like X

The best open source alternative to X is Mastodon. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to X and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to X are Gab, Bluesky, diaspora* and Minds.

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X alternatives are mainly Social Networks, but if you're looking for Microblogs or Video Sharing Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Privacy focused, Social Networks, Android, Microblogging, Self-Hosted, Open Source and Decentralized. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to X.
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Alternatives list

  1. Mastodon icon

    Mastodon

     573 likes

    Decentralized and federated social platform with no ads, focusing on personal interaction, and offering 500 character posts, custom emojis, content warnings, and robust moderation tools.

    128 Mastodon alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    • Android Tablet
    Screenshot of the Mastodon web interface
     
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    47
    303
    Comments about Mastodon as an Alternative to X
    Top Positive Comment
    Goldmaster
    9

    Many people are moving to mastodon due to being centralised the Twitter basket with eggs is beginning to crack.

    artiman
    Positive
    0

    It's decentralized, open source and made by a German non-profit you can make your own Instance so you can't get censored, but you can get defederated by other Instances

    Joseph Leskey
    Positive
    1

    Mastodon is a very solid, open source, and pretty well decentralized alternative to Twitter. It's fairly minimalistic and easy to work with, but there are some caveats. It does not appear that you are currently able to quote posts, and sometimes the synchronization between decentralized pods is not quite what one would like it to be. Still, it is very much worth a try.

    3 of 47 comments
    Mastodon icon
    Mastodon icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Mastodon is a great X alternative.

    • Mastodon is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Mastodon is Privacy focused and LightweightX is not according to our users
  2. Gab icon

    Gab

     256 likes

    Gab Social is an open source and fully decentralized social network powered by the Gab Platform. It is the new social network of Gab.com. This change was made to further Gab's commitment to its users trust and privacy online.

    117 Gab alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Warning

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    Gab screenshot 1
     
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    35
    589
    Comments about Gab as an Alternative to X
    Top Positive Comment
    Sam Lander
    0

    Gab was built off Mastadon. But the main servers from the people who started Mastadon "censored" Gab because they disagreed with some of the political content.

    So it is more likely that with Gab, you will not be censored for voicing opinions some people disagree with than on most Mastadon servers.

    Top Negative Comment
    altenativeto
    10

    It's dominated by far-right racists from the USA. No sufficient Moderation

    dessalines790
    Negative
    4

    Its not a twitter alt, just a hate site.

    3 of 35 comments
    Gab icon
    Gab icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Gab is a great X alternative.

    • Gab is Freemium and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Gab is Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  4. Bluesky icon

    Bluesky

     102 likes

    An open social network that gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience.

    73 Bluesky alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    Bluesky screenshot 1
     
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    4
    20
    Comments about Bluesky as an Alternative to X
    Ola Johansson
    Positive
    4

    Similar and decentralized, and now no invite needed.

    lounes-tb
    Positive
    2

    It's created by members of the original twitter team. It is what twitter tried to be before Musk ruined it: A humanitarian place of positivity and empathy. If you want a safe place with a community full of artists and people who genuinely care, go to Bluesky. If mockery, viciously thrown slurs and deception are more your thing, go to x

    Joseph Leskey
    Positive
    0

    The best X alternative and arguably the spiritual successor of good old Twitter. It has all of the essential features of a microblogging platform, a great community, and a lovely look and feel. The content seems high quality, and the moderation seems to be on point. A social media platform that's actually pleasant, much like Twitter ought to have been.

    3 of 4 comments
    Bluesky icon
    Bluesky icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Bluesky is a great X alternative.

    • Bluesky is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Bluesky is LightweightX is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Minds icon
    Minds

    An open-source platform for decentralized social networking. Users can monetize posts through ads or monthly support, engaging in various features such as Blogs, Videos, and secure private chats. Minds supports free speech and fa...

    https://www.minds.com
    Learn More
  6. diaspora* icon

    diaspora*

     442 likes

    Diaspora is a federated social networking service, designed to be a more privacy-aware alternative to Facebook . Share what you want, with whom you want.

    119 diaspora* alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Ruby
    diaspora* screenshot 1
     
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    7
    42
    Comments about diaspora* as an Alternative to X
    Top Positive Comment
    Eden
    3

    I think Mastodon is the best alternative to Twitter. But, Diaspora is like a more complete Twitter, closer to what Facebook should be like.

    Top Negative Comment
    velnemed
    26

    Diaspora is a Facebook alternative, it's not Twitter-like

    Guest
    Positive
    2

    decentralized and easy to use

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 7 comments
    diaspora* icon
    diaspora* icon

    • Most users think diaspora* is a great X alternative.

    • diaspora* is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • diaspora* is Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  7. Minds icon

    Minds

     328 likes

    An open-source platform for decentralized social networking. Users can monetize posts through ads or monthly support, engaging in various features such as Blogs, Videos, and secure private chats. Minds supports free speech and facilitates sharing across networks and exploring global trends.

    124 Minds alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Minds screenshot 1
     
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    16
    121
    Comments about Minds as an Alternative to X
    Top Positive Comment
    MindMunition
    10

    I can do everything on Minds I can do on Twitter with no censorship!

    Top Negative Comment
    Camilo Rueda López
    1

    Got kicked out recently... no reason why, cannot login, password recovery does not work and won't be able to use the same @ if willing to sign up again because it is "already taken". This looks to me like if my account has been stolen in some way a couple of months ago but I am not able to get it back again since help is just not working. Too bad.

    givi o
    Negative
    1

    Minds is not an alternative.

    3 of 16 comments
    Minds icon
    Minds icon

    • Most users think Minds is a great X alternative.

    • Minds is Freemium and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Minds is Security-focused and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  8. Pleroma icon

    Pleroma

     67 likes

    Pleroma is a free, federated social networking server built on open protocols. It is compatible with GNU Social, Mastodon, and many other ActivityPub and OStatus implementations.

    56 Pleroma alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Pleroma screenshot 1
     
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    3
    29
    Comments about Pleroma as an Alternative to X
    swapnilgnu
    Positive
    2

    A light-weight decentralized alternative for microblogging.

    clacke_
    Positive
    0

    Pleroma is part of the OStatus fediverse and the ActivityPub fediverse. Your service is only one out of many, and you can interact with users running SocialHome, Mastodon, Pleroma, PixelFed, PeerTube and other services, and like and comment on their content. If you don't like how your service is run, you can run your own and still be part of the same networks.

    ccesar
    Positive
    2

    Interface similar to Twitter, interacts with the Fediverse, better moderation tools than Mastodon.

    Pleroma icon
    Pleroma icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Pleroma is a great X alternative.

    • Pleroma is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Pleroma is Lightweight and Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  10. GNU social icon

    GNU social

     98 likes

    GNU social is a continuation of the StatusNet project. It is social communication software for both public and private communications. It is widely supported and has a large userbase.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    Screenshot of a GNU social website with Swedish localization. Source Wikipedia / FSF
     
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    1
    32
    Comments about GNU social as an Alternative to X
    godisinthewind
    Positive
    8

    It is very similar to twitter, but it is decentralized. In many instances the character count is higher which is nice.

    GNU social icon
    GNU social icon

    • Almost everyone thinks GNU social is a great X alternative.

    • GNU social is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • GNU social is Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  11. Friendica icon

    Friendica

     141 likes

    Friendica is a distributed social network application. Which allow users to connect with others via their own Friendica server, but may also fully integrate contacts from other platforms including Twitter, diaspora*, Pump.io and StatusNet into their 'newsfeed'.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
    • Online
    • Docker
    Logo
     
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    2
    14
    Comments about Friendica as an Alternative to X
    clacke_
    Positive
    3

    Friendica is part of the OStatus fediverse, the ActivityPub fediverse and the Diaspora Federation. Your service is only one out of many, and you can interact with users running Diaspora, SocialHome, Mastodon, Pleroma, PixelFed, PeerTube and other services, and like and comment on their content. If you don't like how your service is run, you can run your own and still be part of the same networks.

    skyling
    Negative
    5

    Designed after the Facebook-style model, not microblogging

    Friendica icon
    Friendica icon

    • Most users think Friendica is a great X alternative.

    • Friendica is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Friendica is Privacy focusedX is not according to our users
  12. Misskey icon

    Misskey

     30 likes

    A forever evolving, sophisticated microblogging platform.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Timeline in Home mode
     
    |
    2
    11
    Comments about Misskey as an Alternative to X
    clacke_
    Positive
    1

    Misskey is part of the ActivityPub fediverse. Your service is only one out of many, and you can interact with users running SocialHome, Mastodon, Pleroma, PixelFed, PeerTube and other services, and like and comment on their content. If you don't like how your service is run, you can run your own and still be part of the same networks.

    MaterialFuture
    Positive
    1

    Misskey federated and allows you to host your own service via ActivityPub similar to Mastodon or Pleroma. What Misskey has that others don't is the fully customized dashboards for each instance and the ability to play games and integrate other APIs into your application. The userbase is mostly Japanese but there are more English speaking instances popping up as of late.

    Misskey icon
    Misskey icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Misskey is a great X alternative.

    • Misskey is Free and Open SourceX is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Misskey is Customizable and LightweightX is not according to our users
  13. Hubzilla icon

    Hubzilla

     87 likes

    Hubzilla is a powerful platform for creating interconnected based websites featuring a decentralised identity, communications, and permissions framework built using common webserver technology. Hubzilla is very suitable for communities (of any size).

    69 Hubzilla alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Channel
     
  14. nostr icon

    nostr

     19 likes

    The simplest open protocol that is able to create a censorship-resistant global "social" network once and for all.

    43 nostr alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
     
  15. GoToSocial icon

    GoToSocial

     11 likes

    GoToSocial is an ActivityPub social network server, written in Golang.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted
    • Kubernetes
    • YunoHost
    a screenshot of the GoToSocial web interface
     
12 of 37 X alternatives