Notes 
giscus is an open-source comment widget that stores each thread as a GitHub Discussion in a repository you own. You add it with one script tag and there is no server or moderation backend to run, since GitHub holds the data. It loads no ads and no tracking scripts, and it is free for any public repository.
Reviewed by Gabriel Bachmann
giscus
giscus.app 1 rating so far*
Rate giscus: No account needed
Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
For a static site or a developer blog, giscus is close to free in every sense: no server to maintain, no bill, and threads that live in a repository you already control. It loads no ad trackers and no profiling cookies, so your readers are not sold to anyone. The honest catch is the sign-in. Every commenter needs a GitHub account, which Microsoft owns, so you are routing both the identity and the stored comments through one large company, and a general audience will bounce off the login wall. Pick giscus when your readers are developers who are signed into GitHub anyway. For a wider readership that should be able to reply without an account, a self-hosted engine like Remark42 or Isso fits better.
GitHub at a glance
giscus/giscus MIT blogcomment-systemcommentscomments-widgetgiscusgithubgithub-discussionshacktoberfestjavascriptnextjsreactreactjsutteranceswidget
Stars
12,213
+7 this week
Forks
490
25 watching
Last commit
6mo ago
healthy
Star history
Issues
77% closed
88
open
297
closed
+1 / -0
opened / closed, last 4 weeks
Opened vs closed, last 12 weeks
Commits, last 26 weeks
2 commits, active 1 of 26 weeks
79 contributors since Mar 2021
Languages
- TypeScript 83.9%
- CSS 13.1%
- JavaScript 3%
Updated daily from the GitHub API. Star tracking since Jun 30, 2026.
Website at a glance
giscus.app
B score 70
Solid website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 11d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
giscus alternatives
Remark42 Self-hosted comment engine that adds threaded discussions to any site with no trackers, no ads, and no third-party scripts loaded on your readers.
Isso The classic self-hosted Disqus replacement: a small Python server on a SQLite file that adds comments with no tracking and no third-party scripts.
Frequently asked
- Is giscus free?
- Yes, completely. It is open source and runs entirely on GitHub Discussions, which you already get for free with a public repository. There is no server bill and no paid tier to remove ads, because there are no ads.
- Does giscus track my readers?
- giscus itself loads no advertising trackers and sets no profiling cookies. The trade is that comments live in GitHub Discussions, so the data and the sign-in sit with GitHub, which Microsoft owns. That is a different model from a self-hosted engine where you hold everything.
- Do readers need an account to comment on giscus?
- Yes. Because comments are stored as GitHub Discussions, a reader has to sign in with a GitHub account to post or react. That makes it a natural fit for a developer or technical audience and a poor fit for a general readership.
giscus license, in plain English
MIT Permissive
Do almost anything: use, change, and ship it, even inside closed-source products. The only condition is keeping the copyright notice.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use
Requires
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Permissive licensing lets anyone reuse this, including inside closed products. That is freedom to build on, but no guarantee that downstream copies stay open.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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