head to head · open source
giscus vs ClearFlask
giscus has 12,110 GitHub stars, 481 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. ClearFlask has 451 stars, 45 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. giscus leads on adoption by 2,585% (12,110 vs 451 stars). giscus is written in TypeScript under MIT; ClearFlask is written in Java under Apache-2.0. giscus has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, ClearFlask 10%. ClearFlask was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| giscus | ClearFlask | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 451 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-05-26 | 2026-09-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 481 | ⑂ 45 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick giscus if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ClearFlask if
- You want the ClearFlask feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and ClearFlask fits your workflow better
About giscus
giscus is an open source, MIT licensed commenting system powered by GitHub Discussions that lets visitors leave comments and reactions on a website through their existing GitHub accounts.
read the full giscus overview →
About ClearFlask
ClearFlask is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed feedback management and ideation tool for product teams that want to collect user requests, run voting, and publish a roadmap on infrastructure they control.
read the full ClearFlask overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is giscus or ClearFlask more popular?
giscus has 12,110 GitHub stars and ClearFlask has 451. giscus has the larger community by that measure.
Are giscus and ClearFlask free?
Both are open source. giscus is licensed under MIT and ClearFlask under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between giscus and ClearFlask?
giscus is written in TypeScript and ClearFlask in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, giscus or ClearFlask?
Choose giscus if you want the larger community (12,110 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ClearFlask if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.