AI-moderated comments.
Free for your first site.
EchoThread pairs hosted comments with a built-in ML spam filter that catches AI-generated spam — so you can let readers comment without an account and still keep threads clean. One script tag, threaded replies, reactions, and a real moderation dashboard. No ads. No tracking. No server to run.
Moderation
Siftfy ML inline
Setup
1 script tag
Migration
Disqus + WordPress
Performance
~35 KB gzip
Built for modern websites
Built around Google's Core Web Vitals and the HTTP Archive page-weight budget — so the widget stays around 35 KB gzipped and doesn't tank your LCP, INP, or CLS scores.
Migration paths
Switch without losing the conversations you already earned.
Most teams looking for a comment system are not starting from zero. EchoThread is built for the three moments that create purchase intent: leaving Disqus, adding comments to docs, and cleaning up spam-heavy communities.
Leaving Disqus or WordPress
Import existing threads from a Disqus or WordPress (WXR) export, keep old page discussions together, and remove ad-network weight from article pages.
Best first action: import test
Adding comments to docs
Drop the widget into static sites, product docs, changelogs, and tutorials without pulling in a heavy framework plugin.
Best first action: embed guide
Outgrowing GitHub-only comments
Keep reader discussion on your site instead of forcing every commenter into a developer account or issue-thread workflow.
Best first action: live demo
Cleaning up spam
Let readers comment without an account and still stop drive-by spam — Siftfy ML scoring and moderation queues do the gatekeeping instead of a login wall.
Best first action: dashboard demo
Live demo
Try it right now
This is a live EchoThread widget. Sign in and post a comment.
Features
Everything you need,
nothing you don't
A complete commenting system that respects your users and gives you full control.
Conversations
Threaded replies
Nested conversations up to 5 levels deep keep discussions organized and easy to follow.
Emoji reactions
Like, Love, Haha, and Angry reactions let readers engage without cluttering the thread.
Image attachments
Upload JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WebP images directly into comments. Automatic resizing and optimization.
Link previews
Paste a URL and get a rich Open Graph preview card with title, description, and thumbnail — automatically.
Bold, italic & spoiler tagsNEW
**bold**, _italic_, and ||spoiler|| render natively. Masked spoilers stay hidden until clicked — perfect for movie, TV, gaming, and book threads.
Smart sorting
Sort comments by newest, oldest, most liked, or most replied. Readers find the best content first.
Moderation & Safety
AI spam filter (Siftfy)FLAGSHIP
A purpose-built ML classifier scores every new comment as it lands — flagging promo spam, scam links, AI-generated noise, and bot floods. No competitor at our price point ships a real ML moderator.
Moderation dashboard
Approve, reject, or delete comments from a clean, purpose-built dashboard. Filter by status with one click.
Passkey sign-in
Sign in to the dashboard with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello, or a hardware security key. Passwordless and phishing-resistant by default; magic link is the fallback.
Auto-approve mode
Choose between manual review for every comment, or auto-approve for a hands-off experience. Toggle per site.
Notification bell
See unread counts when new comments arrive or spam is detected. Never miss a conversation.
Edit & delete
Comment authors can edit or delete their own comments. Moderators can override any comment status.
Comment without an accountNEW
Turn on guest commenting and readers post with just a display name — no login wall. Every guest comment is screened by the Siftfy ML filter first, so you get the reach without the spam. Prefer accounts? Google and GitHub sign-in are one click away.
Built for everyone
Visible focus rings on interactive controls, ARIA labels on icon buttons, a focus-trapped image lightbox, and broad prefers-reduced-motion coverage — aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA.
Developer experience
Lightweight & fast
~35 KB gzipped. Zero dependencies. Pure vanilla JavaScript that won't slow down your page.
Fully themeable
Light and dark themes built in, or pass any hex color for a custom background. CSS custom properties for full control.
Mobile-first responsive
Looks great on every screen size. Touch-friendly interactions and adaptive layouts out of the box.
Simple API
RESTful API with API-key authentication. Manage sites, threads, comments, and users programmatically.
CORS-ready embed
One script tag on any domain. No iframes, no third-party cookies, no cross-origin headaches.
Your data, always
Backed by DynamoDB and S3. Full API access to export your data anytime. No vendor lock-in.
Quick setup
Add comments in 3 steps
From zero to live comments in under a minute.
Create your site
Sign up, add your domain, and grab your API key from the dashboard. Takes 30 seconds.
Drop in the snippet
Paste two lines of HTML before your closing </body> tag.
<div id="echothread"
data-api-key="YOUR_API_KEY"></div>
<script src="https://cdn.echothread.io/widget.js"></script>You're live
Comments appear on the page after submission. Manage everything from the moderation dashboard — approve, reject, filter spam, and track conversations across all your pages.
How we compare
EchoThread vs. the alternatives
An honest comparison — including where the open-source projects we admire win.
| Feature | EchoThread | Disqus | Giscus | Cusdis | Hyvor Talk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes (Hobby, forever) | Yes (with ads) | Yes (open source) | Yes (self-host) | No (trial only) |
| Open source | No (fully managed) | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No | Yes (uses GitHub) | Yes | No |
| Sign-in for commenters | Optional (or Google/GitHub) | Account required | GitHub only | Optional | Optional |
| Bundle size | ~35 KB gzipped | Heavyweight | ~30 KB | <10 KB | ~80 KB |
| Spam filter | ML classifier (Siftfy) | Akismet | GitHub gating | Manual | Akismet / add-on |
| AI-generated spam | Caught by ML | Not specialized | None (login wall) | None built in | Add-on |
| Image uploads | Yes | Yes | Markdown only | No | Yes |
| Reactions | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Hosted backend | Yes | Yes | No (uses GitHub) | No (self-host) | Yes |
| Ads / tracking | Never | Yes | No | No | No |
Comparison reflects publicly documented features as of May 2026. Giscus and Cusdis are open-source projects we admire — if hosting your own backend or routing comments through GitHub fits your workflow, they're great choices.
- ??crypto_winz_2026 Spam · 0.97
🔥🔥 CLICK HERE FOR FREE BITCOIN bit.ly/x42 limited time only...
- SCSarah Chen Approved · 0.04
Great write-up — the ESM section finally cleared up our import errors.
- ??replica_outlet Spam · 0.94
Best replica handbags 70% off! visit our store at outlet-deals(dot)example...
- MRMarcus Rivera Approved · 0.02
Does this play nicely with Astro's view transitions? Migrating off Disqus.
- Scoring…
NewAI moderation
Spam doesn't
stand a chance.
When spam filtering is enabled, every new comment is scored by a dedicated machine-learning classifier as it's posted. Promotional spam, scam links, AI-generated noise, and bot floods are flagged automatically so moderators can focus on real conversations.
Trained on real comment data
Catches modern spam patterns — promo URLs, AI-generated filler, copy-paste scams — that keyword filters miss entirely.
Inline scoring
Scoring runs during comment submission. Low-risk comments can publish immediately when auto-approve is on; high-risk spam goes to the spam queue.
You stay in control
Flagged comments land in a queue you can review or restore. Toggle spam filtering and auto-approval per site.
No lock-in
Your comments are yours. Always.
Import what you already earned, export it whenever you want, and never get held hostage by a platform. Data portability is built in on every plan — including the free one.
Bring it with you
One-step import from a Disqus or WordPress (WXR) export. Old threads light up on the matching pages — no broken anchors.
Export anytime
Download every comment as JSON or CSV from your dashboard whenever you like. No support ticket, no waiting.
No vendor lock-in
Backed by your own exportable data — not an ad network. Leave whenever you want and take the conversation with you.
Moderation
A dashboard built for moderators
Approve, reject, and filter comments with one click. See pending counts, spam flags, and unread comment notifications. Manage multiple sites from a single dashboard.
- Filter by status: pending, approved, rejected, spam
- Notification bell with unread count
- Auto-approve toggle, spam filter, and per-site settings
- One-click embed code with copy to clipboard
Built in public
Made by Yoni (Cigan)
Indie developer, founder of VectraSEO and a handful of other small products. EchoThread is one person, no VC, no surveillance ad model — just a comment platform built for the open web.
Read moreLearn more
Docs, guides, and migration walkthroughs
Whether you're embedding the widget for the first time or migrating thousands of threads from another platform, we've written the guide.
Documentation
EchoThread docs — add comments in 60 seconds
Quick-start snippet, configuration reference, theming, and step-by-step embed guides for WordPress, Next.js, Hugo, Astro, Ghost, Jekyll, Eleventy, and Gatsby.
Read the docsBlog
EchoThread blog — moderation, migration, monetization
Practical playbooks on running a healthy comment section, migrating from Disqus, stopping spam with AI, and monetizing a reader community.
Browse the blogPopular guides
- How to export Disqus comments & migrate safely
- Replace native WordPress comments
- Add comments to a Ghost blog
- Add comments to a Webflow site
- GDPR-compliant commenting system
- Stop blog comment spam with AI (EchoThread + Siftfy)
- Migrate blog comments without losing SEO
- How to get more blog comments
- Do blog comments help SEO?
- EchoThread vs. the competition
- Remark42 alternative
- Best Giscus alternative
- Best lightweight commenting system
- Best commenting system for static sites
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before getting started.
- Does EchoThread support spoiler tags?
- Yes. Type ||your spoiler|| in any comment — readers see a masked block and click (or press Enter or Space) to reveal it. Works on every site that embeds the widget, no plugin or configuration required.
- What text formatting does the comment composer support?
- Bold (**text** or Ctrl+B), italic (_text_ or Ctrl+I), and click-to-reveal spoiler (||text|| or Ctrl+Shift+X). Each one is also a one-tap button in the composer toolbar.
- Are spoiler tags accessible to keyboard and screen-reader users?
- Yes. Spoiler blocks are keyboard-focusable, reveal on Enter or Space, re-mask on Escape, and announce their state via aria-label. The treatment is aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA.
- Is EchoThread free?
- EchoThread is completely free during the beta period — no credit card required. After beta, the Hobby tier stays free for personal sites. Anyone who signs up during beta keeps Hobby free for life on every site they create.
- Will EchoThread always be free?
- Yes for the Hobby tier — that's the commitment. Paid plans start at $5/month when you outgrow the free limits (10,000 page views and 1,000 comments per month, per site). See the pricing page for the full breakdown.
- Does EchoThread work with WordPress, Next.js, and static sites?
- Yes. EchoThread works on any website. Just add a div and a script tag before your closing body tag — no plugins or framework-specific setup required.
- Does EchoThread track my users?
- No. EchoThread does not use third-party cookies, does not serve ads, and does not sell or share user data. Privacy is a core principle, not a feature toggle.
- What happens after the beta?
- Paid plans launch alongside the post-beta release. All sites and data created during beta carry over. Beta users keep the Hobby tier free for life on every site they've already created.
- What authentication options are available?
- Up to you, per site. Leave commenting open and readers post with just a display name — no account required — and every guest comment is screened by the Siftfy ML spam filter first. Or require sign-in with Google or GitHub. Site owners always authenticate via magic-link email.
- How does spam detection work?
- When spam filtering is enabled, every new comment is scored by a dedicated machine-learning classifier as it is submitted. High-confidence spam is filtered automatically; borderline cases land in your moderation queue for review. You can also enable manual approval mode to gate every comment before it goes live.
- Does EchoThread have an AI spam filter for comments?
- Yes. Every comment is scored by Siftfy, a built-in machine-learning classifier trained on real comment spam — including the AI-generated "slop" that keyword and rule-based filters miss. High-confidence spam is filtered automatically and borderline cases go to your moderation queue. There is no third-party Akismet key to configure — it works out of the box.
Ready to upgrade your comments?
Set up EchoThread in under a minute. Free during beta, no credit card required.