Cactus Comments vs Comentario
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Comentario
Privacy-friendly, self-hosted web comments engine
| Feature | Cactus Comments | Comentario |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Elixir | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 700 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Disqus | Disqus |
What are Cactus Comments and Comentario?
Cactus Comments
Cactus Comments is a privacy-friendly commenting system that uses Matrix rooms to store and federate comments on static websites. It is embeddable with a small script and works with any homeserver.
- Comments backed by Matrix
- Federated discussion
- Embeddable on static sites
- Privacy friendly
Comentario
Comentario is a fast, privacy-conscious commenting platform that you can embed on any website. It is a lightweight self-hosted alternative to Disqus written in Go.
- Embeddable comments widget
- No tracking or ads
- Multiple identity providers
- Moderation dashboard
Cactus Comments vs Comentario: key differences
Cactus Comments is written in Elixir, while Comentario is built with Go. Cactus Comments is the more established project (first released 2020), while Comentario arrived in 2023. Comentario has the considerably larger community, at 700 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose Cactus Comments if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Elixir
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Comentario if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Watch out for
- Comments only, not a forum
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is Cactus Comments or Comentario better?
Comentario is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Cactus Comments if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Cactus Comments and Comentario free and open-source?
Yes. Cactus Comments is licensed under MIT and Comentario under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cactus Comments and Comentario with Docker?
Cactus Comments: yes. Comentario: yes.