Like @osma I agree with @david_chisnall observations on cost.

@FediThing perhaps the initial design of Mastodon was deliberate on costs, I dunno, but my impression is that in the developer community there is hardly discussion around hosting cost, and I don't see it featured on project landing pages either.

There are a bunch of attempts at creating #ActivityPub microblogging apps designed around simplicity, which may also make them be cheaper to operate.

Codeberg is having issues all day and is down now, but let me include the list I maintain:

delightful.coding.social/delig…

#Seppo by @mro is one example that comes to mind, funded by #NLnet, it focuses on the ease of self-hosting on any webhosting provider. The tagline is "Personal Social Web":

seppo.mro.name/en/about

#Snac is another example to mention:

codeberg.org/grunfink/snac2

As @futurebird mentions you need a certain technical accumen to use these apps. Unlike Mastodon or GoToSocial they are usually not offered by hosting providers.