Mastodon

Mastodon had its first public launch in October 2016 [[38]](#src-38). During the migration from Twitter, monthly active users on servers reporting to joinmastodon.org peaked at about 2.62 million on Nov 30, 2022, then fell to about 850,600 on Jul 31, 2024 and 765,714 on Jul 31, 2025, according to an archive of the official statistics [[114]](#src-114); the official statistics count 745,597 on Oct 22, 2026, or -2.6% compared with Jul 31, 2025 [[115]](#src-115). In early 2026, the organization announced its move to a nonprofit structure, Eugen Rochko stepped down from leadership and Felix Hlatky became executive director [[39]](#src-39). On Feb 18, 2026, Mastodon had between 750,000 and 1 million monthly active users depending on the source, about 785,000 according to the official site [[39]](#src-39), and in April 2026 the organization signed a €614,000 contract with the Sovereign Tech Fund [[40]](#src-40). No creator payment program appears in the sources reviewed: the organization is funded by donations, Patreon (about 4,900 backers for more than $17,000 per month in February 2026) and grants [[41]](#src-41), and TechCrunch reports plans for creator features [[39]](#src-39). In October 2026, Mastodon is an organization in restructuring, with an audience under one million monthly active users and no direct creator payments.

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