Isso is an open source alternative to Disqus. Lightweight self-hosted commenting server in Python and JavaScript, a drop-in Disqus replacement that keeps comments in your own SQLite database. MIT licensed, 5.3k GitHub stars, self-host with Docker, no terminal required to start, and last released 2026-03-26.
Should you switch?
Use it if
Bloggers and small static sites that want a self-hosted, privacy-respecting alternative to Disqus and are fine managing their own SQLite-backed comment server.
The JS embed requires unsafe-eval in your Content Security Policy, comments live in a single SQLite file (high availability and backups are on you), and spam filtering is manual moderation.
Some quotes here endorse the approach rather than report first-hand use, or report a problem. We label those.
"I keep using isso https://isso-comments.de/
I installed it on my static blog very easily, and I own all the data.
Also it is GDPR-compliant (because it provide hints on how to remove data like IPs) and it is very light.
For me Disqus and similia are a dead end."
"If you want to own (and control) your site's comments, then Isso is for you.
It is that simple. :)
Your server, your data.
Disqus is offering you a free service for a reason: they want to make good use of the data that your site comments contains.
They also want to hi-jack the community that you have built around your site - or rather: what Disqus has fooled you into believing that you have."
