Mastodon Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Mastodon hosting on xCloud lets you run your own self-hosted social network instead of renting space on someone else's server. Deploy Mastodon on a dedicated Cloud VPS and xCloud brings up the pinned Mastodon web, streaming and Sidekiq services with private PostgreSQL and Redis, persistent media storage and an HTTPS gateway in minutes, with a generated Owner account waiting when you sign in.

Deploy your Mastodon

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Mastodon?

Self-hosted Mastodon is a federated social network server built on ActivityPub, written in Ruby on Rails with a Node.js streaming API. Upstream describes it as a free, open-source social network server where servers interoperate, so users on one can talk to users on another, including non-Mastodon software that implements the protocol. It is a federated alternative to Twitter and Threads, licensed under AGPL-3.0, and you set your own moderation and registration rules.

On xCloud the template runs Mastodon v4.4.3 as web, streaming and Sidekiq roles behind one nginx gateway, with PostgreSQL 14 and Redis 7 kept private. Four named volumes hold the database, queue state, uploaded media and generated secrets. The Owner account is created once from the username and email you enter; Elasticsearch, S3 storage and SMTP are not set up.

From Sign-Up to a Live Mastodon Instance In Just 3 Easy Steps

Self-hosting Mastodon normally means six coordinated services, a database, a cache, an Owner account and a domain and certificate before a single post goes out. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Mastodon from the OneClick catalog. Enter your site/domain settings, an Owner username, and a deliverable Owner email whose domain resolves in public DNS.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the official Mastodon 4.4.3 web, streaming and sidekiq services alongside private PostgreSQL and Redis, all pinned by immutable digest, create your Owner account, mount four persistent volumes and publish it over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Sign In And Configure Your Instance
Open your HTTPS URL and sign in with the generated Owner credentials shown in your xCloud credential panel. Configure authenticated SMTP, then review moderation, registration, privacy and federation settings before opening the instance publicly.

Everything Mastodon Does, On Your Own Server

Mastodon runs in full here — an independent federated instance with its own moderation and privacy controls, on infrastructure you control.

Federated ActivityPub Timeline
Follow and be followed across the fediverse — Mastodon, and every other server speaking the same open protocol.
Realtime Web And Streaming
The web app and a dedicated streaming service keep timelines and notifications updating live.
Your Own Moderation And Privacy Rules
Set registration, retention, privacy and federation policy yourself, as the operator of the instance.
Generated Owner Account
Sign in immediately after provisioning with an Owner account xCloud creates from the username and email you chose.
Private PostgreSQL And Redis
The database and cache run as internal services with no public port — only the Mastodon gateway is exposed.
Four Volumes, Fully Persistent
Database, cache, uploaded media and runtime secrets each persist on their own volume, surviving a restart together.

Everything You Need To Run Your Fediverse Instance 24/7

Managed hosting for Mastodon, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Mastodon 4.4.3 deployed instantly
Official pinned image digests
Owner account generated for you
Private PostgreSQL and Redis
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Mastodon

Mastodon instance hosting for a community
A club, newsroom or project team runs its own server so members get handles on its domain, and the admins set moderation, registration and privacy rules instead of inheriting a large instance's policies.
Run a single-user instance you control
An individual runs a private server for one account, keeping posts and uploaded media on volumes they can back up, while still following and being followed across the wider network of ActivityPub servers.
Leave Twitter or Threads for open protocols
Someone moving off a closed platform sets up a server on their own domain, then follows people on other Mastodon servers and on any software that implements ActivityPub.
Learn how federated servers are run
A developer or sysadmin deploys the full stack of web, streaming, Sidekiq, PostgreSQL and Redis to test moderation settings and federation behaviour before deciding to open registration to others.

Mastodon vs Alternatives

Twitter: Mastodon is a federated alternative to Twitter: per upstream, users on one server can communicate with users on another, so your server on your own domain joins the network and you set its moderation rules.
Threads: Choose Mastodon as a Threads alternative when you want to own the server itself. Upstream's README lists real-time chronological timelines, phrase filtering and a reporting and moderation system.
Misskey: Misskey is a self-hosted peer with its own OneClick page. Per upstream, Mastodon acts as an OAuth2 provider, so third-party apps can connect to your server through its REST and Streaming APIs.
GoToSocial: GoToSocial is another self-hosted option on this site. In a Mastodon vs Pleroma or GoToSocial comparison, Mastodon is built on Ruby on Rails and React, with a dedicated Node.js streaming service.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Mastodon and the six services it runs. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 16 GB

Cloud VPS 24 GB

A larger community, heavier federation and more Sidekiq concurrency.

$84.99per month

24 GB RAM
8 vCPU cores
300 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. The 6 GB rung sold elsewhere on this site is deliberately absent: Mastodon's own template minimum is 4 GB across six coordinated services, which does not fit comfortably under it. Mastodon itself is free under the GNU AGPL v3.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Mastodon on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental. Size it above Mastodon's own 4 GB minimum.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Corner Of The Fediverse?

Mastodon on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How do I run my own Mastodon server?

Pick Mastodon in the OneClick catalogue, enter your domain, an Owner username and a deliverable Owner email, and deploy. xCloud starts the web, streaming, Sidekiq, PostgreSQL, Redis and gateway services, creates the Owner account and shows its generated password in the credential panel, so you can sign in straight away.

How do I self-host Mastodon with Docker?

This template is that setup, prebuilt: six Docker services on a dedicated Cloud VPS, with the Mastodon images on v4.4.3 and PostgreSQL 14 and Redis 7 private to the install. You skip writing the compose file and the reverse proxy, and the page works as Mastodon Docker hosting that you still own.

Docker hosting on xCloud

Does a Mastodon server need email?

Yes for anything involving mail. SMTP is blank in this template, so invitations, password resets and notification email will not send until you configure authenticated SMTP in the Environment editor. Do this before inviting other users; the Owner can still sign in with the generated password meanwhile.

How do I update Mastodon?

Updates are deliberate, not automatic. The template pins v4.4.3 by digest, and a catalogue re-sync only affects new installs. Read every Mastodon release note in between, back up all four volumes together, run the required database migrations, and know that rollback can mean restoring the pre-upgrade data.

How do I back up Mastodon?

Back up mastodon_postgres_data, mastodon_redis_data, mastodon_public_system and mastodon_runtime_config together as one recovery set. For file-level copies, stop writes and all Mastodon services first, and test a restore on a separate instance. The runtime-config volume holds the generated signing secrets.

Backups in xCloud

Is Mastodon open source?

Yes. Mastodon is open source under the GNU AGPL v3, so the server software itself costs nothing to run. xCloud charges for the dedicated Cloud VPS and deployment around it. If you modify Mastodon, the AGPL's corresponding-source obligations apply to your changes, so keep that in mind before customising.

Who owns the data on a hosted Mastodon instance?

You do. The database, uploaded media and secrets sit on named volumes on your own Cloud VPS, and you hold the Owner account. xCloud runs the server and the deployment, while moderation, federation policy, backups and upgrades remain your responsibility as the instance operator.

How much RAM does a Mastodon server need?

The manifest asks for 4096 MB of RAM, 2 CPU cores and 20 GB of disk, which is why this page sells the 16 GB Cloud VPS. Federation load, Sidekiq concurrency, user count and media retention can need substantially more, so watch queue latency, memory and disk.

Does this template include Elasticsearch or S3 storage?

No. Neither is enabled in this baseline, so there is no full-text search backend and media stays on the mastodon_public_system volume. Upstream documents object storage for production operators, but changing storage mode does not move existing media, so plan any migration deliberately.

Can I change the Mastodon domain later?

Treat it as fixed. The site domain becomes Mastodon's LOCAL_DOMAIN and identifies the instance to the fediverse. Upstream documents it as unsafe to change once federation has started, because existing account handles and remote follows break rather than migrate. Choose your domain before you deploy.

Can I run Mastodon cloud hosting beside other apps?

Yes, if the server has the headroom. It is a dedicated Cloud VPS rather than a locked appliance, but Mastodon's six services already use much of a 4 GB minimum. Add other OneClick apps only after watching memory, and use the 16 GB or 24 GB tier for more.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.