Mastodon is not owned or controlled by a single company. It is a federation: a network of independently operated servers that communicate with one another. A person using one Mastodon server can follow and interact with people using many other Mastodon servers.  Each server runs the free and open-source Mastodon software and sets its own local rules, but the servers remain connected through a shared communication protocol.

Mastodon currently represents roughly one million monthly active accounts across nearly 9,000 interconnected servers. It is smaller than the major commercial platforms, but it includes politically engaged communities, journalists, researchers, public officials, technologists, and people who have left or reduced their use of proprietary social networks.

It allows direct public communication without depending entirely on a proprietary platform or recommendation algorithm.

Reach

A Mastodon account does not automatically reach every user on its server or across the Fediverse; reach develops through followers, boosts, hashtags, and participation in relevant communities.  Two independent sites track the number of servers, registered accounts, and active users across Mastodon and the wider Fediverse.

Fediverse Observer — Historical Fediverse statistics

https://fediverse.observer/stats

FediDB — Mastodon servers and account statistics

https://fedidb.com/software/mastodon

The Mastodon name and logos are trademarks of Mastodon gGmbH.  Mastodon GmbH has not reviewed or approved the use of their trademark on this page.