Open-source alternative
Replace Disqus with Remark42
The best open-source alternative to Disqus is Remark42, self-hosted on Railway. Comments you host. Remark42 is MIT — Disqus without the ad-funded widget.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Disqus compares
| Disqus | Remark42 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- Remark42
MIT self-hosted comment engine
FAQ
- Is it free?
- The Remark42 licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Disqus seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Disqus?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Remark42 stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Disqus links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Remark42 stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: Remark42 + a volume (or Bolt DB path) behind the site that currently loads Disqus. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. The publication itself can sit on /stacks/ghost-cms.
- What does this replace?
- Disqus. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
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