Top 10 Twitter Alternatives Of 2023

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Ever since Elon Mush rebranded Twitter and renamed it X (and probably even before that), most people have been hunting for alternatives.

Musk likes the letter X. He named his space engineering company SpaceX and his AI company xAI, and when he was at PayPal, he unsuccessfully tried to have the company renamed to X-PayPal and include an X in the logo.

Since social media sites are much more useful when everyone uses them, it is very hard to dethrone an incumbent platform like Twitter. But this phenomenon also means that, if users start to leave Twitter en masse as a result of Musk’s influence, another site could take Twitter’s place fairly rapidly. This was the case of MySpace bowing to Facebook in the space of a year.

So, we are not here to debate Elon Musk’s obsession with the 24th letter of the alphabet. Nope. You have come here in search of the best Twitter alternatives, and, here they are.

X marks the spot.

Top Twitter Alternatives

Threads

Meta has a history of copying its competitors’ features. Instagram Stories was launched to counter Snapchat Stories, and Instagram Reels to counter TikTok. Threads is a close copy of Twitter and is the only Twitter alternative that has gotten close to matching Twitter in terms of the number of people using the platform.

According to data from Similarweb, a digital intelligence platform, Threads saw a spike in usage in the days after its release, reaching around 45% of Twitter’s active users on July 7. However, traffic has declined since then to around 12% of Twitter’s active user count.

Unlike Twitter, which has a user-friendly desktop version, Threads can only be accessed via a smartphone app, and users need an Instagram account to sign up. Threads users can automatically follow all the same people they follow from Instagram as part of the setup process. The site itself has the same glossy, minimalist design as Instagram. So far, many of the posters are social media reps at large companies and meme accounts.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said in a Threads conversation that Threads was not aiming to replace Twitter. It was instead trying to “create a … a less angry place for conversations.” As part of this goal, Threads will not try to promote politics or hard news because “any incremental engagement or revenue they might drive is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest), or integrity risks that come along with them.”

Mastodon

Mastodon is a Twitter alternative social media network most people know and an open source-based social network of small communities. It is also part of the Fediverse, with its advantages and disadvantages.

Mastodon uses a network consisting of individual communities that can interact with one another. Getting started with Mastodon is simple; just find a community that interests you and create a profile. You can make posts up to 500 characters, respond to threads, and share blogs from all of your selected communities.

Mastodon also has useful tools for migrating from Twitter. For example, Fedifinder can search your Twitter account for the accounts you follow there and try to find matches for them in the Fediverse. This makes catching up with people you’ve been following on Twitter much easier.

Mastodon’s feel is also reminiscent of Twitter. For example, when you get an account on one node or another and start following people, you’ll see a scrolling feed of posts from their accounts.

Bluesky

Bluesky is the social network many people want to get on but can’t — as of this writing, there are about 370,000 users and almost 2 million on the waiting list. Why? Because, essentially, Bluesky is Twitter without the ads and without as much angry discourse.

At least for now.

As a Twitter alternative, Bluesky looks like, and in many ways, acts like Twitter. It has a maximum post length of 300 characters and features to like, reply, and repost messages. It also includes a “What’s Hot” feed for trending posts and a “Following” feed for accounts you follow.

Eventually, Bluesky will deploy an open social networking protocol, AT Protocol. This is designed to support a decentralized social network the way Mastodon already does with ActivityPub. When it works — if it works — you’ll be able to set up your own AT-based server. You will also be able to decide what you see by controlling your traffic with algorithms, where you make the call, not some company.

You will also be able to change hosts without losing your content, your followers, or your identity.

For now, Bluesky is available on an invitation-only basis. You must either join a waitlist or receive an invite from an existing member. Since existing members still only get one invite every two weeks they’ve been on the service, you could be in for a long wait unless you’ve got a close friend who’s already in.

Spill

Spill is a Twitter alternative launched in June 2022 by former Twitter employees Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown. In an interview with AfroTech, Terrell and Brown described how they created Spill with the aim of “creating safety for diverse communities.”

According to the app’s Apple Store description, Spill is trying to become “the de facto platform to discover and discuss culture worldwide.”

In terms of user experience, Spill prioritizes gifs, photos, and memes, and users can be paid for creating viral posts. Spill is still in beta — those who are interested can join the waitlist here.

Post

Truth be told, Twitter is not the most aesthetically appealing microblogging platform out there with its cluttered interface. This is where Post steps in. Developed by former Waze CEO Noam Bardin, Post is a quite realistic Twitter alternative with a minimalist yet appealing user interface.

Tailored for journalists and news readers, Post offers features like posting content without any word limit, comment, react, retweet, and tipping users. And while Post is not as feature-rich as Twitter since some features are not yet available, it is still a great social media platform albeit with a niche audience.

Moreover, Post has its own moderation policy with strict actions for bullying, harassment, fake news, and promoting hate speech. However, there is no app available for iOS and Android users as this Twitter alternative is only accessible via a web browser.

Discord

Discord functions less like Twitter than some of the alternatives already covered, but there are still many similarities between the two platforms. It also has many more users than the more direct Twitter alternatives.

Discord was originally created for gamers, and many people still use it to hang out over video chat while playing games with or against each other. Users can communicate via voice chats, video conferences, and text-based conversations. These interactions can be one-on-one or within designated groups, and users can share a variety of media.

The design feels a lot like a work communication software like Slack or Teams.

Discord’s structure also revolves around servers where communities can gather around shared interests, be it video games, music genres, or dozens of other topics. Within these servers, users can set up multiple channels, both text and voice, to categorize their discussions.

Users can get started by downloading the desktop or smartphone app, or by signing up through a web browser.

TRUTH Social was Donald Trump’s response to his permanent suspension from Twitter “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” The former president launched TRUTH Social and claimed it would “give a voice to all.” Since then, he has promoted QAnon content on TRUTH Social and ads targeting QAnon believers have appeared on the site.

The design of the site is very similar to Twitter, except that tweets are called “truths.” This similarity is a result of the fact that TRUTH is built using the same code as Mastodon — the code is open source.

Much like Discord, Reddit is less similar to Twitter in terms of user experience. The platform claims it is “the front page of the internet” where users can share content, discuss various topics, and engage in community-building. The site is organized into numerous “subreddits,” each dedicated to a specific theme or interest. These range from news, science, and finance to niche hobbies, memes, and everything in between.

Members, known as Redditors, can post content (like links, images, or text posts) to these subreddits, and the community votes to determine the prominence of each post on the site. Popular posts rise to the top and can be viewed by a larger audience. Meanwhile, discussions ensue in the comment sections, fostering an environment of knowledge exchange and camaraderie.

Reddit is available through web browsers, through smartphone apps on iOS and Android, and through a Windows desktop app. There is currently no official desktop app for Mac users.

Counter.So cial is a great small social network and a Twitter alternative. According to Sensor Tower, a market intelligence analysis company, CounterSocial grew by 2,300% to 24,000 installs in the 12 days following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Why? This cloud-based social network is known for its friendliness and its strict rules against trolls and fake news.

Users can share posts up to 500 words, which are displayed in chronological order. The result is much cleaner and more enjoyable message streams. The platform also supports hashtags, which some social networks don’t.

Counter.Social’s desktop interface looks much like TweetDeck — that is, it gives you multiple ways to display messages in columns. So, for example, you can have one for friends, one for notifications, one for all messages, one for fellow Linux fans, and so on.

The platform also doesn’t have commercial users or advertising. The service’s founder, a hacker and activist known as The Jester, relies on donations to keep the lights on. For $5 a month, donors get a Pro account. With this, they get a selection of embedded news channels, such as MSNBC, and the ability to send self-destructing messages.

Cohost

With a user interface like Twitter, Cohost is another worthy Twitter alternative Twitter. A major differentiator between the two platforms is that Cohost offers a vertical feed without any algorithm. It means the posts of the users you’re following are shown in chronological order.

Cohost is still in the beta phase, and it might take a day or two to get your account accepted if you are joining without an invitation code. Its creators say that measures have been put in place to prevent spam. The platform is relatively less cluttered as compared to Twitter but offers similar features like posts, likes, retweets, hashtags, and comments.

Also, content moderation is managed by the company. As for sensitive content, Cohost recommends adding warnings to posts.

Since there is no algorithm in place, it might be challenging to discover trending posts unless you search for them manually. It is free to use but offers Cohost Plus subscription for $5 per month to get additional features like increased file upload limit and customization options.

Cohost is not a perfect Twitter alternative as of now, as it is still in the beta phase. However, it is a platform that offers Twitter-like features.