go with Akkoma instead. there are more features and it’s actively maintained, in contrast to Pleroma where development is effectively stalled.

Regarding Mastodon being slow, on the ~50-100 instance I’m a member of, Mastodon is always very fast, just limited to my internet speed. I know that the larger instances can slow down, especially during peak load.

@OptimusPrime Some differences I’ve noticed from a user perspective:
- Indeed, the default frontend is lighter, and a bit more customizable
- Post formatting in either Markdown, HTML, or BBCode is available
- You can react to messages with arbitrary emojis
- Polls can have more than four options
- My instance has an instant messaging “chats” plugin; it seems to only work with other Pleroma users, but it’s potentially useful

And some cons:
- It’s a lot tougher to find a good instance, since Pleroma unfortunately attracts a lot of bad actors. Read your instance’s rules very carefully and skeptically, and check the public (local) timeline to make sure it’s a good fit for you.
- By default, timelines do not auto-update and you have to click on a button to reveal new messages.

I personally like Friendica the most out of all the platforms, but Pleroma isn’t bad at all from a usability standpoint.

More lightweight to selfhost. Or are you asking from a user perspective?