Elk (Mastodon App)★★★★☆Alternate web front-end for Mastodon and compatible servers. Slightly more user-friendly, if a bit buggy, especially on non-Mastodon servers like GoToSocial.
Enafore★★★★☆Minimalist web front-end for Mastodon and compatible servers. Not as capable as Elk, but more stable.
Fedilab★★★★☆A full-featured app for connecting to Mastodon and other Fediverse servers. Includes specific capabilities for Akkoma, Pixelfed, PeerTube and more, without getting too cluttered.
Fread★★★★☆Another Bluesky/Mastodon/RSS Combo app like OpenVibe, a bit less polished but considerably more useful. Handles multiple accounts per type, plus custom feeds.
GoToSocial★★★★☆A lightweight Fediverse server, with a clean web interface for viewing public posts. Compatible with Mastodon apps and interacts with other ActivityPub platforms.
Husky (Social Media App)★★★☆☆A fork based on an older version of Tusky, with added support for Pleroma and Akkoma extensions.
Instagram★★☆☆☆Like checking out your friends’ vacation photos, but every other photo is an ad, and half of your friends’ pics are full of product placement.
Manyverse★★★★☆Takes the pain out of setting up and running SSB. Unfortunately it doesn’t overcome SSB’s inherent challenges of discovery, data size or multiple devices. (So far?)
Mastodon (Mobile App)★★★☆☆Good for someone new to Mastodon, but lacks advanced features found in other apps like Tusky.
Mastodon – Simplified Federation★★★★★A Firefox add-on that automatically opens remote Mastodon users or posts in your home server when you interact with them.
Moshidon (Mastodon app)★★★★☆A modified version of the Mastodon app for Android that adds a bit more functionality. Helpful if you use lists or bookmarks a lot, or your instance supports formatted posting.
OpenVibe★★★☆☆A cool idea, and it looks great, but the combined feed is too much of a firehose unless you’re only following a small number of people on each account.
Pachli (Mastodon App)★★★★☆A Mastodon app forked from (and still similar to) Tusky. Capable without being cluttered. Faster, smaller updates, some minor differences, and some cool anti-harassment features I’d like to see adopted more widely.
Phanpy (Mastodon App)★★★★★An app for Mastodon (and other Fediverse sites) that cuts through the clutter. Runs anywhere in a web browser, or can be installed to your device’s home page as a PWA.
PixelDroid★★★★★Optimized for photo sharing and viewing, works smoothly and integrates well with the system. FOSS, won’t vacuum up your personal data.
Snac★★★★☆Extremely bare-bones social networking server that runs on low-resource machines, works on the web without cookies or JavaScript, and still interacts through ActivityPub with Mastodon, GoToSocial and other Fediverse software.
Subway Tooter★★★☆☆Extremely customizable, capable, cluttered and complex. Also extremely frustrating to use, especially on a phone. Better on a tablet where there’s room for more columns at a time.
Tusky for Mastodon★★★★★I’ve checked out some alternatives after several years using Tusky, and it’s still my preferred Mastodon/Fediverse app. It really runs smoothly, even with multiple accounts.
Under the Influence★★★★☆
Trey Ratcliff Trey Ratcliff details a fascinating look at a side of Instagram that I’ve mostly ignored.
Whalebird (Mastodon client)A simple desktop app for Mastodon and (most) compatible Fediverse servers. Fast, runs on multiple platforms.