Disqus
Replaceable in one session with an AI coding agent.
The long-established commenting widget: a shared identity across every site using it, with moderation, threading and voting.
Replace it, and reclaim the page weight. WHY THIS IS WORTH DOING - The free tier loads advertising and trackers on every page. That is the real cost STACK - One endpoint, SQLite, a script under 5KB MIGRATING FIRST - Export the existing comments before writing anything; the export is XML and includes thread URLs - Map old thread identifiers to your page URLs and check a sample by hand COMMENTS - Page URL, author, body, parent, created time; edits append revisions SPAM - Honeypot, signed minimum fill time, per-IP-hash rate limit, first comment held RENDERING - Markdown rendered server-side through a strict allow list - Lazy-load the widget when it scrolls into view, so comments never delay the article Include the import script, the schema and the lazy loader.
What you lose
- A shared account, so a reader can comment without signing up again
- Moderation and spam filtering at very large scale
- Threading, voting and notifications already built
If you would rather not build
- No comments at all, which many sites find they prefer
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
88/100
Verdict yes at 88. The migration is the only real work, and the export makes it tractable. The page-weight saving is immediate.
History
tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Questions about Disqus
answered from the record above
Is Disqus free?
No — the plan we track is $11 a month. Plus at around $11/month billed monthly to remove advertising; the free tier is ad-supported.
Can you replace Disqus by building your own?
YES. Replaceable in one session with an AI coding agent. Replacement score 88 out of 100, build time one session. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Disqus cost?
$11 a month on Plus — $132 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Disqus?
A shared account, so a reader can comment without signing up again; Moderation and spam filtering at very large scale; Threading, voting and notifications already built. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Disqus?
Yes: Isso, giscus. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
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