A GitHub Discussions-backed comment widget for static sites and apps, with no backend or database to run.
7.2K615TypeScriptMITWell maintainedUpdated 19 days ago
5 alternatives
5 best open-source alternatives to Disqus (2026)
Looking for a free, open-source alternative to Disqus? These 5 projects can replace it. Each one passed our quality screening and is explained in plain words, so you can compare stars, license and maintenance at a glance.
How to choose
Start by deciding whether you want to run a server at all. Gitalk keeps comments in GitHub Discussions, so there is no backend or database to maintain, which suits static sites. Remark42, Isso and Artalk are self-hosted comment servers you deploy yourself, while Coral is a commenting platform from Vox Media aimed at making site comments safer and more constructive. Whether your readers have GitHub accounts, whether you care about not tracking them, and how much setup you accept will narrow it down quickly.
- gitalkBest for static sites where you don't want to run a backend or database.
- remark42Best for self-hosters who want a lightweight engine that doesn't track readers and stores data in a single file.
- talkBest for sites that want a commenting platform focused on making discussions safer and more constructive.
Quick comparison
| Project | Stars | License | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| gitalk/gitalk | ★ 7.2K | MIT | 19 days ago |
| umputun/remark42 | ★ 5.6K | MIT | 10 hours ago |
| isso-comments/isso | ★ 5.3K | MIT | 14 days ago |
| ArtalkJS/Artalk | ★ 2.4K | MIT | yesterday |
| coralproject/talk | ★ 2K | Other | yesterday |
Self-hosted, lightweight comment engine for blogs and websites that doesn't track readers, stored in a single data file.
5.6K+6 this week460GoMITWell maintainedUpdated 10 hours ago
A lightweight, self-hosted commenting server written in Python and JavaScript, designed as a drop-in replacement for Disqus.
5.3K+2 this week464PythonMITWell maintainedUpdated 14 days ago
A self-hosted comment system for blogs and websites, with a lightweight Vanilla JS client and a Go server.
2.4K+6 this week213GoMITWell maintainedUpdated yesterday
Coral is an open-source commenting platform from Vox Media that aims to make site comments safer and more constructive.
2K376TypeScriptOtherUpdated yesterday
FAQ
- Is there a free, open-source alternative to Disqus?
- Yes. The most popular open-source alternatives to Disqus on Repolode are gitalk, remark42, isso.
- Which Disqus alternative should I choose?
- gitalk has the most GitHub stars and is released under MIT. Compare the license and last commit of each option in the table above before choosing.
How this list is made: AI reads each project's documentation to match it with products it can replace, every project passes our quality screening, and the list is ranked by GitHub stars. Stars updated Nov 7, 2026. How Repolode works