Welcome to the definitive source for comparing and selecting social media platforms. Here you will find detailed information to help you choose a social media tool that fits your needs. This publication is dynamic and will be updated as these platforms enter and leave the market. If you see anything that is missing or incorrect, please let us know in the comments below.
The four core requirements for the social media alternatives listed here are: create connections with people; post messages that only those people you’re connected with can see; capable of text, image, and video messages; news feed that shows all friends’ activities. We built a custom framework around this data, so it is almost trivial for us to add, remove, or update the data as social media tools change over time.
Note: If we mark a specific solution as not having a particular feature, that only means we did not see that feature advertised in their public marketing content. We focus almost exclusively on publicly verifiable facts in our research.
There are several questions to ask yourself in deciding which social media platform(s) to use:
- For individuals, what are your goals? (e.g. If privacy is high on your list, check out Spreely; to explore new interests, checkout Hello).
- For businesses: Which platform are your customers already using? Which ones match the content you create? Which aligns with your marketing goals?
With the comprehensive research provided here, you’ll be making an informed decision. We put together a scatter plot that ranks various features of each social media platform:
Sorted Feature Strength is a number that was calculated by looking at 19 different features such as Platform Moderation, Video Messaging, Search Function, Report Abuse Option, News Feed, File Sharing, etc.
People and businesses are getting creative and looking at all the options available in social media. To this end, our analysts have done comprehensive research on 16 social media platforms, with over 220 data points, and more than 300 feature points. We also cover 21 extra features.
Our comprehensive Ordered Lists include a sorted business score, sorted software score, features, domain authority, features per tool, etc. We have five different ordering methods we’ve implemented in expandable sections. Click on each to expand the ordered list:
We trust that this publication will save you many hours of research. Bookmark this page, and be sure to share it with your colleagues and friends. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when we publish on future projects. Also, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
What elements do you find important when deciding on a social media platform? Please engage with us in the comments below. We love feedback!
Social Media’s are listed below in no particular order:
Minds.com
Minds.com Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Blockchain based, Minds provides payment to users when they create content, refer friends, and drive traffic.
Age of Software/Company: 23.2 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
MeWe
MeWe Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Provides user-friendly features, dedicated newsfeeds, control over what is shared, and users maintain ownership of their content.
Age of Software/Company: 5.0 Yrs
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Vero
Vero Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: No algorithms that keep the user clicking, no data mining and no ads. The user keeps control over who sees their posts.
Age of Software/Company: 5.0 Yrs
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Mastodon
Mastodon Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Free and self-hosted, Mastodon is ad-free and enables users to post pictures, links, video and texts.
Age of Software/Company: 3.7 Yrs
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Twitter Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Some of Twitter’s goals are: to be transparent, provide a free place for people to converse, and improve their tools and technology.
Age of Software/Company: 19.9 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Tumblr
Tumblr Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Enables users to easily create any kind of blogs, from jokes to fashion to stories, and everything in between.
Age of Software/Company: 14.1 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Elpha
Elpha Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Elpha prides itself in being a supportive community where women can grow their careers in technology.
Age of Software/Company: 2.0 Yrs
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Line
Line Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Provides fast, convenient communication with others. Great for using with mobile devices.
Age of Software/Company: 8.3 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Spreely
Spreely Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Enables users to control their experience by saving newsfeeds, keeping personal credentials private, and freely expressing themselves.
Age of Software/Company: 1.6 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
VK
VK Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Very popular in Russia, VK provides efficient communication tools that enable people to connect to services, companies and other people.
Age of Software/Company: 14.3 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
LinkedIn Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Age of Software/Company: 17.8 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Hello
Hello Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: A mobile app that connects people with shared interests, far away and locally.
Age of Software/Company: 4.6 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Instagram Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Owned by Facebook, Instagram provides easy, convenient photo and video sharing. Post moments from your life story and share with friends.
Age of Software/Company: 9.8 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Spaces
Spaces Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Great, Russian, mobile phone app that provides forums, chat groups, games, blogs, and connecting with communities.
Age of Software/Company: 7 Mo
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
USA.Life
USA.Life Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: A free, conservative alternative to Facebook, USA.Life provides online safety and less censoring.
Age of Software/Company: 3.4 Yrs
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
Facebook Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Not Available
Feature summary: Connect with friends, family and other people you know. Share photos and videos, send messages and get updates.
Age of Software/Company: 23.8 Yrs
Industry thought leadership blog: Not Available
Top five other Facebook Alternatives with the most similar features, in order:
FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS | |
|---|---|
Text MessagingThe ability to send or post text-only messages to an individual, a group of people, or to your timeline. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 16 |  |
Search FunctionEnables users to search user-generated content, for example: friends, status updates, news, images and videos. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 16 |  |
Private MessagingEnables users to send direct messages one on one, without having those messages seen by anyone else. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 16 |  |
BlockingAllows users to block other people on the social network. This prevents others from tagging the user and prevents others from seeing things posted on the users timeline. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 15 |  |
Report Abuse OptionAllows users to report posts or something that goes against the community standards (if any). Number of Social Media that have this feature: 15 |  |
Image MessagingSame as text messages, but also allows images only or images and text. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 14 |  |
Platform ModerationIf the platform actively moderates content (either through management of volunteer moderators, or through paid employees) without waiting for user reports, then the platform is considered moderated. Unmanaged volunteer moderators would not be considered moderation by the platform. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 14 |  |
Mobile AppThe software provides a mobile application designed to run on a mobile device, using IOS or Android. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 13 |  |
Video MessagingAllows sending a message in the form of a video file, to other people or groups, using chat or messenger. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 12 |  |
GroupsAlso known as a community, groups are created by users. Also, users can join a group, post to a group, or read from whatever forum or community that they are interested in. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 12 |  |
News FeedA data format that provides users with up-to-date content. Users may have some control over what their news feeds contain. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 12 |  |
File SharingEnables users to share files (with possible restrictions), like videos and images, by attaching the file to a post, a comment or by sending as a direct message. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 8 |  |
Pages or BrandsYou can create pages or brands for your business or other transactions, then you can also manage them. Posting on your pages is a great way to let your customers and fans know what your business is doing. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 7 |  |
Fact CheckingWhen the platform itself takes responsibility for verifying the accuracy of content that is shared. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 7 |  |
Schedule Future PostsEnables users to schedule a post, to be published on some future date and time. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 5 |  |
Real Time Voice CallsSupports real time audio calls between one or more people. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 5 |  |
Real Time Video CallsSupports real time video calls between one or more people. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 5 |  |
No AdvertisementsProvides a setting that enables users to turn off all or most advertising. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 4 |  |
Open SourceGives permission for people to use, modify or distribute the source code or content of the software. Number of Social Media that have this feature: 1 |  |
Wow, what a great, comprehensive article on social media options! Thanks for all the data, it makes comparisons really easy.