Short answer: both let you turn a group of accounts into their own timeline, but they're built for different jobs. A Bluesky list is a public record that can hold anyone and can be shared, pinned and subscribed to. A Mastodon list is private, only holds people you already follow, and exists mainly to organize your own reading.
If you're on both networks, or thinking about joining Mastodon, those differences change how you should use them.
The Quick Answer
| Bluesky list | Mastodon list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can see it | Anyone – lists are public | Only you |
| Who can be on it | Any account, followed or not | Only accounts you follow |
| Are members notified? | No, though they can find the list | No |
| Can others use it? | Yes – pin it as a feed, or subscribe to it | No sharing |
| Can it be used to mute or block? | Yes, as a moderation list | No |
| Can it remove people from Home? | No, but you can follow fewer people | Yes, with an exclusive list |
| Reply controls | Not a list setting | Choose which replies the list shows |
Bluesky Lists: Public, Shareable, Two Kinds
Bluesky has two types of list, and they do unrelated things:
- Curation lists group accounts around a topic. Pin one and it becomes a chronological tab of just those people. You don't have to follow them, and other people can pin your list too.
- Moderation lists group accounts you want to mute or block. Subscribe to one and everyone on it is handled for you, which is how shared blocklists work.
Because a Bluesky list is a public record, anybody can open it and see who is on it. That's what makes lists useful as recommendations, and it's why you should think before adding someone to one. Our guide to whether Bluesky lists are public goes through exactly what other people can see, and pinning a list as a feed explains what makes a list timeline different from Following.
Mastodon Lists: Private, and Built Around Who You Follow
A Mastodon list is a personal organizing tool. Nobody else can see it, the people on it aren't notified, and there's nothing to share. The one big rule is that you can only add people you already follow. A list is a way to slice your follows into smaller timelines, such as friends, local news or people who post about one hobby, not a way to watch accounts you haven't followed.
Mastodon adds two settings that Bluesky lists don't have:
- Exclusive lists. Turn this on and the list's members stop appearing in your Home timeline. They only show up in the list. It's a very good fix for a noisy follow: keep following a prolific poster, but only read them when you open their list. (It needs a server running Mastodon 4.2 or later.)
- Replies policy. Choose whether the list shows replies to other members of the list, replies to anyone you follow, or no replies at all. Cutting replies down turns a busy timeline into a calm one.
Which One Should You Use?
- To follow a topic without following forty accounts – a Bluesky curation list. You can watch accounts without following them.
- To quiet one very chatty account on Mastodon – an exclusive list.
- To recommend a group of people to others – a Bluesky list, or a starter pack if you want newcomers to follow them in one tap.
- To mute or block a whole category of accounts – a Bluesky moderation list. Mastodon has no equivalent you can subscribe to.
- To keep a private reading group nobody else knows about – a Mastodon list, because it stays private.
The simplest way to say it: Bluesky lists are about publishing a group of accounts, and Mastodon lists are about organizing the ones you follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Mastodon lists public?
No. Mastodon lists are private to your account, and the people on them aren't notified. Bluesky lists are the opposite: they're public records that anyone can view.
Can I put someone on a Mastodon list without following them?
No. Mastodon only lets you add accounts you follow to a list. Bluesky lets you add any account, whether or not you follow it.
What is an exclusive list on Mastodon?
An exclusive list takes its members' posts out of your Home timeline, so they only appear in the list's own timeline. It needs a Mastodon server running version 4.2 or later.
Does Mastodon have moderation lists like Bluesky?
Not in the same way. On Bluesky, a moderation list is a public list of accounts that you or other people can subscribe to in order to mute or block everyone on it at once. Mastodon handles muting and blocking per account, with filters, and server-level blocks set by moderators.
Can I use Bluesky and Mastodon lists in one app?
Yes. Skyscraper 1.8 supports Mastodon lists alongside Bluesky lists. Mastodon sign-in is part of Skyscraper Pro and is still in beta.
Bluesky and Mastodon Lists in Skyscraper
Skyscraper 1.8 added Mastodon support (in beta), and lists are part of it, alongside your Bluesky lists. You can create and edit Mastodon lists, including the replies setting and the option to keep members out of Home. Mastodon sign-in is part of Skyscraper Pro; our guide to adding a Mastodon account shows how it works.