Dating · alternatives
Alternatives to Mastodon
21 dating tools sit alongside Mastodon in this directory. Below is what separates each from Mastodon on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 16
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Mastodon starts at
- Free
Why people look past Mastodon
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Mastodon entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Mastodon publishes a single plan, Free at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Make the first move
- Starts $29.99 a month dearer, at $29.99/month.
Designed to be deleted
- Starts $16.99 a month dearer, at $16.99/month.
- 3 tiers to Mastodon's 1.
Start something real
- No free tier, where Mastodon has one.
- Starts $35.99 a month dearer, at $35.99/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than free.
- 2 tiers to Mastodon's 1.
Dating deserves better
- Sold on a freemium model rather than free.
- 3 tiers to Mastodon's 1.
AI-powered networking
- Sold on a freemium model rather than free.
- 2 tiers to Mastodon's 1.
Where communities thrive
Priced and rated the same as Mastodon on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Every Mastodon alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mastodon (this page) | Free | Free | 1 | |
| BumbleMake the first move | Free, then $29.99/month | - | - | vs Mastodon |
| HingeDesigned to be deleted | Free, then $16.99/month | - | 3 | vs Mastodon |
| Match.comStart something real | $35.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| OkCupidDating deserves better | Free | Freemium | 3 | vs Mastodon |
| Lunchclub | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| Geneva | Free | Free | 1 | vs Mastodon |
| Clubhouse | Free | Free | 1 | vs Mastodon |
| Free | Freemium | 3 | vs Mastodon | |
| Happn | Free, then $29.99/month | - | - | vs Mastodon |
| Facebook Dating | Free | Freemium | - | vs Mastodon |
| Bluesky | Free | Free | 1 | vs Mastodon |
| Grindr | Free, then $19.99/month | - | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| Coffee Meets Bagel | Free, then $14.99/month | - | - | vs Mastodon |
| HER | Free, then $14.99/month | - | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| Feeld | Free, then $11.99/month | - | - | vs Mastodon |
| Badoo | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| eHarmony | Free | Freemium | - | vs Mastodon |
| JDate | $29.99/month | Subscription | 1 | vs Mastodon |
| EliteSingles | $31.95/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| Lox Club | $36/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Mastodon |
| Christian Mingle | $24.99/month | Subscription | 1 | vs Mastodon |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Mastodon badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Mastodon is most often brought in for decentralized social networking, community-owned discussion platforms, privacy-focused communication infrastructure. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Mastodon is broadly right and the question is cost, the Mastodon pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Dating category lists everything the directory holds, and best dating tools ranks them.
Mastodon runs on ios, android, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Mastodon alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Mastodon?
- 21 other dating tools are listed in this directory, led by Bumble, Hinge, Match.com, OkCupid. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Mastodon?
- 16 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Lunchclub, Geneva.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Mastodon?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Mastodon?
- Mastodon is most often brought in for decentralized social networking, community-owned discussion platforms, privacy-focused communication infrastructure. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Mastodon?
- None of the dating tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Mastodon alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Dating, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Mastodon against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Mastodon covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every dating tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Dating category, 21 tools beside Mastodon. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.