Mastodon, the decentralized social network often viewed as an alternative to platforms like X and Threads, is experimenting with a new way to generate revenue—asking users directly for support within the app. Starting this week, two of its server‐run flagship communities – Mastodon.social and Mastodon.online – will display banners prompting users whose accounts are at least four weeks old to donate. Users can dismiss these notices, and Mastodon assures that the prompts won’t be repeated frequently
This initiative marks a shift from the platform’s reliance on external funding via services such as Patreon. In 2023, Mastodon collected €545,000 in donations, marking a 65% increase year‑over‑year, but Patreon support declined by nearly 23%, reducing its subscriber base to around 7,400. With fewer ads and no central corporate ownership, the platform has limited revenue avenues, making user donations essential for its non‑profit operation.
If successful, these in‑app donations could be expanded to the web interface and to other Mastodon instances, enabling administrators across the federated network to fund their servers directly. While platforms like Wikipedia have effectively used banner appeals to raise funds from millions, Mastodon’s much smaller community – 8.1 million registered accounts and under one million monthly active users – may not yield the same returns. However, the convenience of contributing directly through the app may encourage more users to support the network
As competition from commercial alternatives such as Bluesky grows, Mastodon’s move to embed donation appeals could help sustain its open-source, ad-free model while reinforcing its unique position in the social media landscape.
