Mastodon Launches New Revenue Streams Through Hosting Services

Mastodon, the nonprofit organization behind the decentralized alternative to social networks like Threads and X, has announced new revenue generation plans. In addition to donations and grants, Mastodon will soon offer paid hosting, moderation, and support services for organizations that want to become part of the open social web. The so-called Fediverse allows individuals and organizations to set up their own servers, which are interconnected via the ActivityPub protocol. This protocol is supported by various software applications, including Mastodon itself, Meta's Threads, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Misskey, and Lemmy. Larger platforms like WordPress, Ghost, and Drupal also integrate ActivityPub through plugins. For organizations that wish to operate their servers under their own rules, setup can be a technical challenge. To address this issue, Mastodon now offers hosting services in which the company manages server administration and optionally provides moderation. Alternatively, support contracts can be made for companies with their own IT department that are new to using Mastodon's federated software. These servers are often intended for brands or institutions and are not open for general user registrations. The price for the services is flexible and depends on the selected options. Customers can continue to set their own rules and guidelines. Even before the official launch, Mastodon has worked with partners such as the European Commission, the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the city of Blois in France, and AltStore, a company for alternative app stores, to ensure continuous revenue. These offerings are intended to supplement, not replace, revenue sources through donations, grants, and merchandise. Felix Hlatky, Chief Financial Officer at Mastodon, expressed his excitement: "We are thrilled to expand our services to organizations that share our vision of a free, open, and decentralized social network. These offerings ensure the financial stability of our team and guarantee that the Fediverse remains a resilient, community-oriented ecosystem.