Cusdis vs Papercups
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Cusdis
Lightweight, privacy-friendly embeddable comment system
VS
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
| Feature | Cusdis | Papercups |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,785 | ★ 6,097 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Disqus | Intercom, Drift |
Why pick each one
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)
Choose Papercups if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is Cusdis or Papercups better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community, while Cusdis is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Cusdis and Papercups free and open-source?
Yes. Cusdis is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Papercups under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cusdis and Papercups with Docker?
Cusdis: yes. Papercups: yes.