Isso is a lightweight, self-hosted comment server written in Python that stores threads in a SQLite database. You embed a single script on your pages and readers can comment, with optional email or a short edit window, and no account required. It loads no tracking scripts and shows no ads, and it can import an existing Disqus or WordPress archive.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
Rate Isso: No account needed
Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
Isso is the original answer to “I want comments without Disqus watching my readers,” and the design still holds up: one small Python service, a SQLite file, no trackers, and an importer that lifts your old Disqus threads across. Readers comment without an account, which keeps the bar low for a general audience. The honest catch is momentum. Active development has gone quiet, and standing it up is more manual than a turnkey widget, so you are taking on the install, the moderation, and the upkeep yourself. Pick Isso if you want a proven, minimal engine and are comfortable maintaining a small server. If you would rather have a more actively developed project, Remark42 covers the same ground with a livelier codebase.
Website at a glance
isso-comments.de
F score 0
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested today
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.
Isso 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.
giscus Comment widget that stores every thread as a GitHub Discussion, so there is no server to run and no ad scripts or tracking cookies loaded on your readers.
Cusdis A tiny open-source comment widget that uses no cookies and needs no reader sign-in, with a self-hosted option and a hosted one for sites that do not want to run a server.
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