Remark42 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 | Remark42 | Cusdis |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Chat & Communication | Chat & Communication |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,615 | ★ 2,780 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Disqus | Disqus |
What are Remark42 and Cusdis?
Remark42
Remark42 is a self-hosted, lightweight commenting platform that embeds into any website without tracking users. It supports social login, moderation, and threaded discussions.
- Embeddable threaded comments
- Multiple OAuth providers
- No user tracking
- Bolt embedded database
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
Remark42 vs Cusdis: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Cusdis's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Remark42 is actively maintained. Remark42 is written in Go, while Cusdis is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Remark42 versus GPL-3.0 for Cusdis. Remark42 is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Cusdis. Remark42 is the more established project (first released 2017), while Cusdis arrived in 2021. Remark42 has the considerably larger community, at 5,615 GitHub stars versus 2,780.
Why pick each one
Choose Remark42 if…
- Privacy-respecting
- Simple single-binary deploy
Watch out for
- Comments only
- Limited theming
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 Remark42 or Cusdis better?
Neither is universally better. Remark42 has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Remark42 and Cusdis free and open-source?
Yes. Remark42 is licensed under MIT and Cusdis under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Remark42 and Cusdis with Docker?
Remark42: yes. Cusdis: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Remark42 or Cusdis?
Remark42 has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Cusdis. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.