head to head · open source
giscus vs ClearFlask
giscus has 12,204 GitHub stars, 491 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. ClearFlask has 450 stars, 45 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. giscus leads on adoption by 2,612% (12,204 vs 450 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 | ★ 450 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-05-26 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 491 | ⑂ 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][giscus] A comments system powered by [GitHub Discussions][discussions]. Let visitors leave comments and reactions on your website via GitHub! Heavily inspired by [utterances][utterances]. [Open source][repo]. 🌏 No tracking, no ads, always free. 📡 🚫 No database needed. All data is stored in GitHub Discussions. :octocat: Supports [custom themes][creating custom themes]! 🌗 Supports [multiple languages][multiple languages]. 🌐 [Extensively configurable][advanced usage]. 🔧 Automatically fetches new comments and edits from GitHub. 🔃 [Can be self hosted][self hosting]! 🤳 Note giscus is still under…
read the full giscus overview →
About ClearFlask
Open source Feedback Management Tool. Alternative to Canny and UserVoice . Contents Managed hosting Self hosting One click deploy Quick start Kubernetes deployment Deploy dependencies Via Docker Via Kubernetes Via AWS Deploy ClearFlask Setup Run Maintenance Migration between Elasticsearch/MySQL Contributing Code quality Building Architecture Release Security Policy Managed Hosting Support our open source development by choosing cloud hosting with scalable pricing, check us out on our website. Self Hosting One click deploy Deploy a self contained instance (API server, SSR frontend, MariaDB) in a few clicks — no…
read the full ClearFlask overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is giscus or ClearFlask more popular?
giscus has 12,204 GitHub stars and ClearFlask has 450. 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 (12,204 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ClearFlask if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.