head to head · open source
giscus vs helios-server
giscus has 12,204 GitHub stars, 491 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. helios-server has 927 stars, 391 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. giscus leads on adoption by 1,217% (12,204 vs 927 stars). giscus is written in TypeScript under MIT; helios-server is written in Python under Apache-2.0. giscus has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, helios-server 42%. helios-server was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | helios-server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 927 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-05-26 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 491 | ⑂ 391 |
| 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 helios-server if
- You want the helios-server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and helios-server 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 helios-server
Helios Election System Helios is an end to end verifiable voting system.
read the full helios-server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is giscus or helios-server more popular?
giscus has 12,204 GitHub stars and helios-server has 927. giscus has the larger community by that measure.
Are giscus and helios-server free?
Both are open source. giscus is licensed under MIT and helios-server under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between giscus and helios-server?
giscus is written in TypeScript and helios-server in Python. 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 helios-server?
Choose giscus if you want the larger community (12,204 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose helios-server if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.