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
Isso
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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.
GitHub at a glance
isso-comments/isso
Stars
5,287
+ 1 this week
Last commit
2mo ago
healthy
License
MIT
Latest release
0.14.0
4mo ago
Stars, last 31d
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.
Isso 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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