Masto.host hosts Mastodon instances and lets communities choose service plans, with options that can be upgraded as needs change.
Paid
9 alternativesinstances.social
instances.social asks users about their preferences to help choose a Mastodon instance.
About instances.social
instances.social is a web questionnaire that helps users choose a Mastodon instance. It asks about preferred languages, the instance size measured by user count, moderation rules for several content types, and whether the instance should run the stable Mastodon release or newer features. Each step can be skipped by keeping the default options.
The source is incomplete at the final question about stable versus latest versions, so it does not show how matching instances are presented or how many are returned.
Key features
- Language selection from a long list, including English, Spanish, German, and Japanese
- Preferred instance size by user count: under 100, 500, 1,000, or 10,000, or no preference
- Separate moderation settings for nudity, pornography, illegal links, spam, advertising, and spoilers
- Allowed, forbidden, or don't care options for each moderation category
- Choice between an instance running the stable Mastodon release or the latest features
Best for: People new to Mastodon who want help narrowing down an instance by language, size, and moderation preferences.
Good for
- Each step can be skipped by keeping the default options.
- Moderation preferences can be set separately for each content category.
instances.social at a glance
- Website
- instances.social
- Category
- Social & Communities › Fediverse
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Platforms
- Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Last checked
- Oct 6, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
instances.social alternatives
Tools and sites you could use instead, ranked by how closely they match.
Lemmy Explorer helps users browse Lemmy instances and communities through an instance and community directory.
Fetch missing replies and posts from other Fediverse instances and add them to your Mastodon instance with FediFetcher.
Open source
24 alternatives
Fedi.Garden helps people find a Mastodon or other fediverse instance to join, providing guidance for choosing a server.
Browse a directory of Mastodon instances; the supplied page provides no additional details about selection or listings.
Compare different Lemmy instances using this repository’s instance list.
Open source
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instances.social FAQ
Can I skip steps in the questionnaire?
Yes. The site states that you may skip any step by keeping the default options.
What user count ranges can I choose from?
You can choose instances with fewer than 100, 500, 1,000, or 10,000 users, or select that it does not matter.
Is something wrong or out of date?
Tell us and an editor will check it.
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