Cactus Comments vs Cusdis
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Cactus Comments | Cusdis |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 2,780 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Disqus | Disqus |
What are Cactus Comments and Cusdis?
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
Cusdis
Cusdis is an open-source, lightweight alternative to Disqus that embeds a tiny comment widget into websites. It is privacy-focused, with no tracking and a small footprint.
- Tiny embeddable widget
- Privacy-friendly, no tracking
- Email and webhook notifications
- Moderation dashboard
Cactus Comments vs Cusdis: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Cusdis's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Cactus Comments is actively maintained. Cactus Comments is written in Elixir, while Cusdis is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Cactus Comments versus GPL-3.0 for Cusdis. Cusdis has the considerably larger community, at 2,780 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 Cusdis if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
Watch out for
- Comments only
- Smaller feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Cactus Comments or Cusdis better?
Cusdis is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Cusdis if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Cactus Comments and Cusdis free and open-source?
Yes. Cactus Comments is licensed under MIT and Cusdis under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cactus Comments and Cusdis with Docker?
Cactus Comments: yes. Cusdis: yes.