Pixelfed
A free, open-source photo-sharing network that works like Instagram without the company.
Instead of Instagram
Screenshot from pixelfed.org, taken 2026-10-23, shown to help you recognise the tool. It belongs to its maker. Ask us to remove it.
Pixelfed describes itself as the free and open-source decentralised photo-sharing platform, and its site credits a developer known as Dansup as its creator. It does the job of Instagram's photo feed, run by whoever hosts each server and not by one advertising company.
Its homepage tells us nothing about ads, tracking, funding, apps or moving your account, so we scored those questions cautiously and will update the review when we have more. It also shares a developer with Loops, which means a lot rests on one person.
- Free, open-source and decentralised photo sharing
- Run by whoever hosts each server, not one advertising company
- Shares a developer with Loops, so a lot rests on one person
What stands out
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For comparison, we also reviewed Instagram (7/30) and TikTok (6/30) as a benchmark.
