Disqus alternatives are sought by publishers who dislike the ads in the free Basic plan, by site owners who want to stop sharing reader data with advertising partners, and by developers who would rather own the comment database. They move to a paid hosted service with no ads, or to open-source software they run themselves.
Short answer: The closest replacements for Disqus in our website commenting software ranking are HYVOR Talk, FastComments and CommentBox.io. Choose HYVOR Talk if you want a hosted Disqus replacement with a stated no-ads, no-tracking policy and a trial. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Website Commenting Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Disqus.
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Pricing: Ad-supported free Basic plan; paid ad-free plans, published
Established in: Not stated by the vendor
Built for: Publishers who accept ads or pay to remove them and want the familiar widget
Not for: Sites that want comments with no ads on a free plan
01
Why buyers look past Disqus
01
The free plan runs ads, and removing them costs money
Disqus's own plan page describes Basic as free and ads-supported, with a top ads placement required. Turning ads off starts at the Plus plan, listed at $12 a month for up to 100,000 monthly pageviews, and rises with traffic: the Pro tier is listed at $115 to $180 a month for 1 to 5 million pageviews. Sites that cannot run ads may be required to take an ads-free plan.
02
Reader data goes to advertising partners
Disqus's data recipients page states that it shares browsing activity with its parent company, Zeta Global, for personalised marketing, and with identity and advertising partners such as LiveRamp and Viglink. It lists around two dozen advertising partners that may set cookies in the comment embed. For a publisher with a privacy policy to maintain, that list is the reason to look elsewhere.
03
Branding and styling are tied to the plan
Disqus states that removing its branding from the footer needs a Pro subscription, while full branding removal and single sign-on belong to the custom-priced Business plan. A site that wants a comment area that looks like its own either pays for the higher tiers or chooses software where styling is not gated.
Comment and engagement widgets sold alongside an ad platform
you are a publisher that wants comments tied to an ad revenue programme and will deal with sales
#13
03
What each one does differently
1
HYVOR Talk
France · Monthly or annual plans on a credit allowance, published; 14-day trial
HYVOR Talk is a paid hosted service with no ads: Personal at 5 euros a month billed annually for one website and 2,500 credits, Premium at 12 euros, Business at 40 euros. Pricing runs on credits, not pageviews. It states it adds no ads, affiliate links or trackers. The company is registered in Paris.
Switch from Disqus if you want a hosted Disqus replacement with a stated no-ads, no-tracking policy and a trial.
United States · Usage-based and published; 30-day trial
FastComments is billed on usage: 10 dollars per site after the first, 1 dollar per 100,000 page loads, and 1 dollar per 100,000 comments stored. It advertises a 30-day trial and a Disqus import. Most sites, it says, pay 99 cents a month. Usage pricing is cheap when traffic is low and varies with traffic.
Switch from Disqus if your traffic is modest and you prefer paying for what you use, with live comments and a Disqus import.
United States · Free plan to 100 comments a month; one paid plan, published
CommentBox.io offers a free Personal plan with 100 comments a month and unlimited page views, and a Professional plan at 10 dollars a month with unlimited comments, webhooks and single sign-on. It states no ads and no tracking. Granular filters need the 20 dollar Moderation Plus add-on.
Switch from Disqus if you run a small site and want a hosted box at a flat price with comments exportable on demand.
France · Free plan; Starter and Pro plans per month, published
GraphComment, from the French company SemioLogic, has a free plan up to 1,000,000 data loads a month, with Starter at 25 dollars (annual) and Pro at 51 dollars. The plans differ mainly in AI moderation allowances. It states no ads and privacy by design, though the free plan has no customisation.
Switch from Disqus if your site is large enough to need AI moderation and you prefer a French provider with a free tier.
Not stated by the vendor · Open source (MIT); self-host with Docker or a standalone binary
Remark42 is self-hosted, MIT-licensed software that can import from Disqus and WordPress. It stores everything in one embedded data file, runs as a Docker container or a single executable, and supports social, email and anonymous login. You carry hosting and backups yourself.
Switch from Disqus if you can run a small server and want one self-contained comment engine with no external database.
Not stated by the vendor · Open source (MIT); self-host it on your own server
Isso is a lightweight commenting server written in Python and JavaScript, MIT-licensed and described by its authors as a drop-in replacement for Disqus. It uses SQLite, imports Disqus and WordPress comments, and ships a 65 kB script. It is a deliberately small tool, and you run the server.
Switch from Disqus if you want the smallest self-hosted comment server and have a Python host to run it on.
Not stated by the vendor · Open source (MIT); self-host or use the vendor cloud
Comentario is a free comment server written in Go under the MIT licence, with documented migration of comments and users from Disqus, WordPress and Commento. Its documentation also mentions a hosted Comentario Cloud, whose pricing we did not verify. It is a younger project, with its repository dating from January 2023.
Switch from Disqus if you want a self-hosted Go server with a documented Disqus import.
Not stated by the vendor · Free, MIT-licensed hosted widget; self-host optional
giscus stores comments as GitHub Discussions, so there is no database to run and it is free and MIT-licensed. Visitors must authorise the giscus app through GitHub to comment, which suits a developer audience and excludes most general readers. There is no anonymous commenting.
Switch from Disqus if your readers are developers with GitHub accounts and you want comments with zero hosting.
Not stated by the vendor · Per coworker per month, published; one-month trial; open source (AGPL) self-host option
Talkyard is a forum and comment system with open-source code under the AGPL, offered hosted from 29 euros a month on the Startup plan, with a one-month free trial, or self-hosted. Plans are limited by admins and new replies rather than pageviews. It is a forum first, so the comment box is one use among several.
Switch from Disqus if you want comments and a discussion forum from the same software, hosted or self-run.
Not stated by the vendor · Open source (Apache-2.0); vendor quotes on request
Coral is Apache-2.0 licensed open-source software from Vox Media, aimed at newsrooms, with moderation as its focus. You can self-host it, or have Vox Media host and support it for a quoted price through a form. It has no public price list. It is built for publishers with a moderation team, not for a single blog.
Switch from Disqus if you are a news publisher that wants moderation tooling and open-source code you can host or have hosted.
United Arab Emirates · Revenue share with publishers; pricing on request
Vuukle is an engagement and monetisation platform for publishers: AI-moderated comments, reactions, a supply-side ad platform and quizzes through a single script. Pricing is on request, and its headquarters is in Dubai. Where Disqus runs ads in a free tier, Vuukle is built around ad revenue, so privacy-minded sites will gain little.
Switch from Disqus if you are a publisher that wants comments tied to an ad revenue programme and will deal with sales.
Disqus is still a reasonable choice for a site that wants comments running in an hour and does not mind ads. The Basic plan is free, supports import and export, and works on WordPress and static sites. Its network of existing user accounts also means many readers can comment without registering. If the ads are acceptable and the privacy policy already names the advertising partners, the cost of moving is not justified.
05
What moving off Disqus involves
01
Export first, and expect to adapt the file
Disqus provides an export as a g-zipped XML file, requested from the admin panel and emailed to you. It states the file cannot be re-imported into Disqus as it is, and that exports may be unavailable for very large sites after repeated requests. Request the export early and check that the importer of your chosen tool accepts the format.
02
Cancelling is by email, and ads return
A paid Disqus subscription is cancelled by emailing the Disqus team, and it then reverts to the Basic ad-supported plan once the paid period runs out. Remove the Disqus script from your templates at the same time as the new tool goes live, so readers do not see ads in a comment area that is no longer maintained.
06
Questions about replacing Disqus
6 answers
Is Disqus free?
The Basic plan is free and ad-supported, with a top ads placement required.
Plus, which allows ads to be turned off, is listed at $12 to $35 a month by pageviews, and Pro is listed at $115 to $180 a month. Business is priced on request.
Does Disqus track readers?
Its data recipients page says it shares browsing activity with its parent company Zeta Global and with identity and advertising partners, and lists many third-party advertising partners that may place cookies. It also lists sub-processors including Amazon Web Services and Stripe.
Can I export my Disqus comments?
Yes. The admin panel produces a g-zipped XML export, emailed once it is ready. Disqus says the file cannot be re-imported into Disqus as it is, and that exports may be unavailable for some very large sites.
Which Disqus alternatives can import Disqus comments?
Remark42, Isso and Comentario state support for importing from Disqus, and FastComments advertises an import. Check each tool's documentation for the current export format before you start.
What is the best self-hosted alternative to Disqus?
Remark42, Isso and Comentario are all MIT-licensed. Remark42 runs as a single binary or container with an embedded data file, Isso needs Python and SQLite, and Comentario is a Go server. Coral and Talkyard are heavier options aimed at publishers and forums.
Is there a free alternative to Disqus without ads?
giscus is free and uses GitHub Discussions, but readers need a GitHub account. CommentBox.io has a free plan up to 100 comments a month, GraphComment has a free plan up to 1,000,000 data loads a month, and the self-hosted tools cost only the server.
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Sources
Checked 8 October 2026
Disqus: Comments Pricing and Plans: Basic free and ad-supported with top ads placement; Plus, Pro and Business tiers, prices by pageviews, features per plan, export/import.
Disqus: Cookies and Data Recipients: Parent company Zeta Global, sharing of browsing activity, LiveRamp, Viglink, advertising partners, sub-processors.
Disqus: Importing & Exporting: G-zipped XML export, cannot be re-imported as is, exports may be unavailable for large sites.
