Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

utterances VS giscus

Compare utterances VS giscus and see what are their differences

utterances logo utterances

A lightweight comments widget built on GitHub issues.

giscus logo giscus

A comments system powered by GitHub Discussions. Let visitors leave comments and reactions on your website via GitHub!
  • utterances Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-30
  • giscus Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-22

utterances features and specs

  • GitHub Authentication
    Utterances uses GitHub issues for comments, meaning users authenticate via GitHub. This can reduce spam and ensures that commenters have a verified identity.
  • Lightweight and Fast
    Utterances is designed to be lightweight and load quickly, benefiting site performance and user experience.
  • Markdown Support
    Since it leverages GitHub issues, users can write comments in Markdown, which many developers and technical users appreciate.
  • GitHub Integration
    Comments are managed through GitHub issues, making them easy to track, moderate, and integrate into your development workflow.
  • Open Source
    Utterances is open source, allowing developers to review the code, contribute, and customize it to their needs.

Possible disadvantages of utterances

  • Dependency on GitHub
    Comments are entirely reliant on GitHub's infrastructure, which means any downtime or issues with GitHub services can affect the commenting system.
  • Limited to GitHub Users
    Only users with GitHub accounts can comment, which may exclude or discourage participation from users who are not developers or familiar with GitHub.
  • No Anonymity
    Because commenting requires a GitHub account, users cannot comment anonymously, which might be a drawback for some communities.
  • Moderation Complexity
    Moderating comments requires managing GitHub issues, which can be cumbersome compared to dedicated comment moderation tools.
  • Feature Limitations
    Utterances is relatively simple and lacks advanced features found in other commenting systems, like rich media support, voting, or detailed analytics.

giscus features and specs

  • GitHub Integration
    Giscus leverages GitHub Discussions for comment management, which means that it inherits all the collaborative features and ecosystem integration of GitHub.
  • Privacy-Focused
    Since it uses GitHub for comments, Giscus does not track users or show ads, making it a more privacy-friendly alternative to other commenting systems.
  • Open Source
    Giscus is open-source, allowing developers to inspect the code, contribute to its development, and ensure that there are no hidden functionalities.
  • Easy Integration
    Adding Giscus to a website is straightforward and well-documented, requiring minimal effort to get up and running.
  • Markdown Support
    Comments in Giscus support Markdown, which allows users to format their messages easily and include features like code snippets.

Possible disadvantages of giscus

  • GitHub Account Requirement
    Users need a GitHub account to participate in discussions, which might limit engagement from non-developer audiences or those unwilling to create an account.
  • Dependency on GitHub
    The system is heavily dependent on the availability and reliability of GitHub's services, making it vulnerable to outages or changes in GitHub's API.
  • Potential Complexity
    The need to manage comments through GitHub Discussions might introduce complexity for users who are unfamiliar with GitHub's interface.
  • Limited Customization
    Customization options for the appearance and behavior of the comment section are less extensive compared to some other commenting platforms.
  • No Anonymous Comments
    The requirement for a GitHub account means that anonymous commenting is not an option, which might deter some users from participating.

utterances videos

SEMANTICS-7: Utterances, Sentences & Propositions

giscus videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to utterances and giscus)
Social Networks
56 56%
44% 44
Project Management
59 59%
41% 41
Feedback
62 62%
38% 38
Commenting Service
57 57%
43% 43

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, utterances should be more popular than giscus. It has been mentiond 51 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

utterances mentions (51)

  • Add Utterances Comment System in Next.js App in App Router
    'use client'; Import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react'; Const Comments = ({ issueTerm }) => { const commentsSection = useRef(null); useEffect(() => { const script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://utteranc.es/client.js'; script.async = true; script.crossOrigin = 'anonymous'; script.setAttribute('repo', 'shade-cool/article'); script.setAttribute('issue-term',... - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Converting BlogCFC blog to Eleventy
    Handling New Comments: There are excellent lightweight comment utilities available for managing comments on your eleventy blog. I personally use Utterances, but Giscus is also a great alternative. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Unleash Your Dev Blog: Write More with GitHub Issues as Your CMS
    We can use utteranc.es, a lightweight comment widget built on GitHub Issues to integrate authed comments in our blog. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Blog Comments
    Typically, a comment requires server side code and a lot of messy management. It’s a pain. These comments rely on a tool called utterances. Utterances uses GitHub’s issue tracker which was designed to track bugs, as part of that it includes extensive comment and discussion capabilities. If an issue doesn’t exist, utterances will automatically create that issue for you. It created this issue for the comments in... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • How do I use utterances on a static GitHub pages site with no custom theme?
    I've installed utterances on my GitHub repo. I've configured it and given it the appropriate permissions. At the end of setup, it provided me with an HTML script and the following instructions:. Source: over 1 year ago
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giscus mentions (30)

  • Rewriting my blog in plain HTML
    3) No commenting feature, luckily I found your post here on HN. But it would be better to have comment blocks, like from https://giscus.app/ or just a link where readers can comment. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: Best self-hosted wiki for local communities?
    If you're a developer, you might start by using a static site generator and GitHub Pages. Stick to Markdown and start collecting and writing stuff. Sooner or later you'll get comments and regular readers. Then you might start to add editing or simply give other people access to GitHub. The editing experience of Markdown files in GitHub is not too bad and you get started in no time. From my experience it's more... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Converting BlogCFC blog to Eleventy
    Handling New Comments: There are excellent lightweight comment utilities available for managing comments on your eleventy blog. I personally use Utterances, but Giscus is also a great alternative. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • A blog post is a long and complex search query to find people
    You might want to look into using giscus[1] for a commenting system on your blog. All it needs is a public GH repository to host the discussions, after which you simply embed a script into each blog post, and visitors will be able to leave a comment using their GH account. [1] https://giscus.app. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What has your personal website/blog done for you?
    I first used basic google analytics but found it too invasive/heavy so I switched over to https://www.goatcounter.com/. For comments, most solutions were also too heavy, paid or had ads, but I finally found https://giscus.app/. So while I did add these 2 features, I'm happy with those variants that I managed to find. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing utterances and giscus, you can also consider the following products

DISQUS - Disqus is a global comment system that improves discussion on websites and connects conversations across the web.

Commento - A fast, bloat-free comments system to foster discussion on your website

Cusdis - Open-source, lightweight comment system for your website

Hyvor Talk - The Best Commenting Platform For Your Website

ReplyBox - ReplyBox, a simple, honest comment system. No ads, no dodgy affiliate links, no fluff.

Schnack - Schnack is an open source commenting system written in JavaScript.