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Blog Comment System Shootout: Disqus vs. Intense Debate vs. JS-Kit Echo

September 27, 2009 by Evan Kline 101 Comments

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WordPress Comment Systems If you’ve visited 40Tech since its inception back in June, you may have noticed a few changes to the system for visitor comments. We’ve been searching for the "perfect" system, and we’ve tried out Disqus, Intense Debate, and JS-Kit Echo on this site and a test server. For a few reasons, 40Tech is now back to using the default WordPress commenting system, with some enhancements. What are the reasons for not going with one of the third- party systems? Let’s take a look at our experience with each of these three third-party commenting systems.

Disqus

Disqus Comment Box

Likes

I really wanted to like Disqus. When it works, it is the most elegant and visually appealing solution of the three external systems. It is also powerful, while maintaining its simplicity. Disqus allows visitors to use their Disqus dashboard to monitor their comments on all Disqus-enabled sites. For blog owners, Disqus will seek out and retrieve comments and mentions from other sites, such as Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg, and YouTube. Disqus supports real-time posting and updating, as well as threaded replies and comment replies.

Dislikes

We used Disqus for an extended period here on 40Tech. We ran into a problem, though, with the comment count on the home page and individual post pages either not displaying the count, or not even displaying the word "comments." A checkbox to fix this in the Disqus dashboard did nothing to fix the problem, and Disqus support never responded to either a support request, or a post in the Disqus forums (those forums have since been replaced). Eventually, I was able to fix the problem by hacking the Disqus plugin.

Recently, though, Disqus updated to version 3, which broke Gravatar integration here at 40Tech. The only images that were showing were the images of registered Disqus users, and Twitter users. This time, I at least got a response to my support inquiry. One of the developers asked for more information, but I received no follow up after that. This also happened when I made an inquiry via Twitter. I understand that Disqus is a free service and top notch support can’t be expected, but I couldn’t use a broken system on a site, and deactivated Disqus.

Intense Debate

Intense Debate Comment Box

Likes

Like Disqus, Intense Debate was also visually appealing, and it worked as advertised. Intense Debate also allows users to monitor all of their posts on various sites from one central location, and will retrieve comments from FriendFeed and republish them back on your blog. Intense Debate also allows users to associate multiple sites with their profiles, and supports "reputation scores," so that other users can "thumb up" or "thumb down" comments.

Dislikes

I liked Intense Debate, but it had one fatal flaw. Specifically, if you click on an Intense Debate user’s name in a comment header, the link takes you to that user’s Intense Debate profile, not to the user’s blog. If you hover over the user’s avatar, then a link to his or her blog appears, along with other information, but this won’t be obvious to many visitors. We want to give visitors a chance to promote their own sites, so this was a deal breaker. If a visitor isn’t an Intense Debate user, that visitor can comment as a guest, and then his name will link to his own site. This is a curious design choice by the Intense Debate developers, as it actually discourages use of Intense Debate profiles. I have an Intense Debate profile, but never use it on sites powered by Intense Debate, because I’d rather have my name link go to my site, instead of to my Intense Debate profile.

JS-Kit Echo

Likes

JS-Kit Echo is perhaps the most powerful of the three commenting system. JS-Kit Echo provides a base commenting system, but also captures all sorts of conversations related to your blog post from across the internet, and displays it within your comments. Within the comments section of an Echo-powered blog, you’ll find a stream of comments, twitter posts, Delicious bookmarks, Google Reader feeds, and more. Each one of these pieces of content has been pulled to your site because it references the initial post in some way or another. Echo gives commenters the option to share their comments with multiple "recipients," sending comments to Facebook, Google, Yahoo, or Twitter. Echo therefore is almost all-encompassing, both in the content it retrieves, and the content that users can send out to other sites.

Dislikes

Because Echo is so powerful, it is also the most convoluted and hard to understand. For casual visitors to a site, it takes a bit of study of the comment form to figure out exactly what is going on. It is even more difficult for casual users to get their brains around exactly what Echo does.

I also found the default skins to be ugly and unwieldy, and I wasn’t confident that I could modify them enough with CSS to make Echo easier to swallow. Echo also was slow in my testing. When loading my pages, I would keep an eye on my browser status bar, and at times Echo would take 30-60 seconds to load. The same happened with other sites I visited. That was several weeks ago, though, and I’ve since visited other Echo-enabled sites that now load much faster. Echo might be worth another visit once it has gone through its growing pains.

Echo’s pricing also seems to be somewhat of a moving target. There was a free version when I tried it out, but now the cheapest version appears to cost $12, and the price of the other versions isn’t even listed on the JS-Kit site.

Decision

For now, because of the above "dislikes" with each system, 40Tech is back to using the default WordPress commenting sytem, with some modifications. Although the other commenting systems do allow customization and even some theming options, this doesn’t match the customization options built into the default WordPress commenting system. The WordPress commenting system is also supported by a treasure trove of extensions.

The ultimate factor in deciding on a commenting system comes down to how it affects the quality and quantity of comments left on a site. The number of comments at 40Tech actually spiked the first time I dropped Disqus for the default commenting system (before I reenabled Disqus). That, though, could have been due to the site content at the time, which did feature a few higher traffic articles. I wonder, though, if that was the sole reason. I suspect that most people aren’t interested in bells and whistles, and want to be able to say what they’re thinking with a minimum of fuss and confusion. While streams of information from other sites might be of interest to blog owners, and may even stimulate more conversation, it also can clutter a blog and distract visitors.

That said, don’t be surprised if you see continued exploration of comment systems at 40Tech. We like pain.

If you comment at sites, do you have a system that you prefer? If you have your own site, which commenting system are you using on your site, and how do you like it?

Blogging, WordPress

About Evan Kline

Evan started 40Tech to write about tech from his perspective – that of the average 40-something tech geek. When not writing about tech, you might find him with his beautiful wife and baby girl, out on the ski slopes, or at his real-life job as a lawyer.

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101 Responses to “Blog Comment System Shootout: Disqus vs. Intense Debate vs. JS-Kit Echo”

Chris Saad Reply September 27, 2009 at 1:07 pm

Hi Evan,

I’m Chris from JS-Kit!

Thanks for such a thorough review of Echo and other tools in the space!

Just to address some of your dislikes…

As you noted, we have considerably sped up our service and our goal is to make it lighting fast all the time.

Also regarding look+feel, our support team at http://support.js-kit.com would be glad to help you heavily customize Echo to suit your needs – almost everything can be overridden using some CSS and JavaScript and our community can help you work out the scripting.

Regarding your usability concerns, I would very much like to learn your thoughts on how we can improve usability – we are working on this every day!

Also – I’d be happy to comp you a copy of Echo for free for taking the time to share your thoughts with us :)

Just drop me an email to chris@js-kit.com and I will make it happen.

Cheers,

Chris
- Evan Kline Reply September 27, 2009 at 6:42 pm
  
  Wow, thanks Chris. If I can get JS-Kit working as well for the end user as the built-in comments, I’ll definitely be interested. I’ll drop you a line some time this week.
Nicholas Z. Cardot Reply September 27, 2009 at 2:17 pm

I maintain that the WordPress default commenting system is the best anyways. You can completely customize it in the template files to make it do whatever you want . There’s great spam plugins including akismet and others. I use the WordPress default on my site and I think that it’s pretty amazing.
.-= Nicholas Z. Cardot´s last blog ..Fight Writer’s Block: Creativity on Command =-.
- Evan Kline Reply September 27, 2009 at 6:45 pm
  
  I do like being able to skin the template files (which is what I did to highlight author posts here, similar to what I’ve seen on your great site). I think I am going to take Chris (above) up on his offer, and work on skinning JS-Kit on the test site to see if I can get it working with similar functionality and appearance as the default system. If I can do it in a way to make it as easy for the end user, I’ll move it here. If not, then I’ll stick with the default comments.
  - Nicholas Cardot September 27, 2009 at 7:47 pm
    
    If they want to move their product into peoples hands then they need to develop a very nice looking and easy to use default layout. Not everyone is going to be able to style it to make it look nice so they are going to pass up at the chance to buy it. If they can make it look really nice by default then they will be able to clinch many more sales.
    .-= Nicholas Cardot´s last blog ..Fight Writer’s Block: Creativity on Command =-.
Bobby Travis Reply September 27, 2009 at 3:39 pm

I’m a fan of Disqus, personally, and am seriously interested in JS-Kit. Couldn’t get Echo to work properly with my configuration on my own site’s marketing tips blog (www.bluetoquemarketing.com/blog) at the time, though, but am interested in testing it again soon, if there is a simple method of adding it and maintaining it with Joomla.

Also, I am generally a fan, both as a user and as a site designer/writer of the multiple feeds in comments, as long as it doesn’t get too convoluted to look at. Options to turn those things off or hide them, would be a good one for users. The concept is fantastic though, especially with JS-Kit Echo, as it really helps to bring the conversation from across the web into one place.
- Evan Kline Reply September 27, 2009 at 6:50 pm
  
  I was really intrigued by Echo as well. I was sad to see that it was pretty slow previously, and I’m glad to see now that it is much faster. I hope I can get it working in such a way that it will address my other concerns, because it does show promise.
- Chris Saad Reply September 27, 2009 at 10:36 pm
  
  Bobby I’d be happy to support you to get up and running as well – again we have a vibrant support community at http://support.js-kit.com who can help you nail any concern!
  - Bobby September 28, 2009 at 8:44 am
    
    Thanks Chris, I may take you up on that! :)
  - john March 20, 2010 at 8:03 am
    
    hello
Kosmo @ The Casual Observer Reply September 27, 2009 at 5:24 pm

“I wonder, though, if that was the sole reason. I suspect that most people aren’t interested in bells and whistles, and want to be able to say what they’re thinking with a minimum of fuss and confusion. ”

I suspect this might be the case. it’s definitely the case for me :)
.-= Kosmo @ The Casual Observer´s last blog ..Inside Kosmo’s Brain =-.
- Evan Kline Reply September 27, 2009 at 6:46 pm
  
  Yep, I hear you. I’m going to try working with JS-Kit on our test site, to see if I can make it work with a “minimum of fuss.”
Giannii Reply September 28, 2009 at 7:17 pm

Hey Evan,

I wanted to also apologize for our developer not getting back to you. All the changes above will be addressed in our next plugin release. Also the issue regarding gravatars should be fixed by the end of the week. It was a tad bit more complicated than it seemed.

If there is anything I can do for you in the future, feel free to shoot me a message http://disqus.com/help

-Giannii
- Evan Kline Reply September 28, 2009 at 10:36 pm
  
  Thanks Giannii. I’ll be interested to see how Disqus comes along with the upcoming changes. You definitely have a great product, despite the problems I had.
David Pierce Reply September 29, 2009 at 9:52 am

I hear you about Disqus – as much as I love it when it works, and want to keep using it, there are too many little niggling issues for me to deal with. I wish they’d give me the option to pay a few bucks for good service, I’d gladly do it! For now, I guess, off to try one of your other options. Thanks!
- Evan Kline Reply September 30, 2009 at 9:24 am
  
  The paid option is an interesting one. With free alternatives, that might be tough, but if they made it could enough, I could see it working.
Ching Ya Reply September 30, 2009 at 2:59 am

Having commented on sites using all 3 types of commenting systems, my favorite one will be Disqus; while the least is JS-Kit. I’ve got used with Disqus a long while ago whereas JS-Kit is the one I find hardest to grasp at earlier points. I agree on the beginners may take a few trials to get the message sent properly, also the loading speed. Glad to know they’ve finally done something about page loads.

Still, my no.1 pick of the most user-friendly commenting system is WP’s. I do enjoy reading the reviews though, a clearer picture overall. Stumbled.

@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
- Evan Kline Reply September 30, 2009 at 9:25 am
  
  That’s about how I feel, too, Ching Ya, although I am probably going to see if I can skin JS-Kit on my test site to see if I can get it working as well as the built-in system. Thanks for visiting.
benwaynet Reply October 29, 2009 at 10:05 pm

I’m running Disqus on one of my site and JS-kit on the other. I agree JS-kit seems to confusing to a basic user and to get all the bells and whistles you have to pay.
I like with Disqus, I can easily post something and have the option to post it to my facebook and/or twitter account.

If WP comments had facebook and twitter integration (the plugins to do this, never seem to work right) I’d stick with them!

With WP owning ID it will be interesting moving forward.
.-= benwaynet´s last blog ..Dungeons & Dragons on Microsoft Surface =-.
- Evan Kline Reply October 30, 2009 at 3:38 pm
  
  Sounds like we had similar experiences. I am soon going to try to tweak JS-Kit on my test site. If I could simplify it, it might be nice. We’ll see.
प्रवीण त्रिवेदी...प्राइमरी का मास्टर Reply November 3, 2009 at 6:28 pm

thanks a lot!!!!!!!
.-= प्रवीण त्रिवेदी…प्राइमरी का मास्टर´s last blog ..इस तरह हम भी पहुंचे हिंदी चिट्ठाकारी की दुनिया – राष्ट्रीय संगोष्ठी में =-.
xian tour Reply November 27, 2009 at 3:16 am

I think it ‘s a perfect things to commenting and discussing .
The function really does work !
anselm Reply November 29, 2009 at 9:47 pm

Thanks for the run-down on the three commenting systems, it was extremely helpful – I am personally trying to decide on one. I have used disqus for a few months now but the fact that increases the loading time by 150% really frustrates me.. I am wondering if Echo undergoes similar issues? If that’s the case I might just switch back to default system… until improvements from third-party commenting systems are made.
- Evan Kline Reply December 2, 2009 at 9:26 pm
  
  I haven’t tried Echo in a while, although they were gracious enough to give me an account. I just need to find time to try it out on our test site. In the beginning, I found Echo to be slow, but then after an update it seemed to get much faster. I can’t speak for it today, but hope to be able to report back in the future.
  - anselm December 2, 2009 at 9:59 pm
    
    Thanks for the reply Evan! For now I plan to work with disqus and optimize other parts of my blog to enhance speed, I see a definite upside to their system hopefully they can continue to improve!
Jack Stow Reply December 8, 2009 at 4:45 am

I’ve had various problems integrating IntenseDebate with a .NET blog. Discussions about it here -http://www.jackstow.com/blog/post/2009/10/08/Integrating-IntenseDebate-With-A-BlogEngineNET-Blog.aspx

Also, as ID is all JavaScript based, I’m finding it slow to load. Is that just me?

Hanging in with ID for the moment though.
- Evan Kline Reply December 10, 2009 at 8:05 pm
  
  It’s now been a while since I tried ID, so I don’t know what it was like, but I don’t remember thinking it was slow back when I used it. Things could have changed, though. I had some other issues with it, but I occasionally check back to these various commenting systems to see how they’re coming along.
albert Reply December 22, 2009 at 9:50 am

Hi
I have tried very shortly IntenseDebate, just to find out that the link
with Twitter is basic, it does not send the written message to twitter, only a link with the
standard and annoying text: albertxx has commented
call that integration of twitter and IntenseDebate, no debate at all this way

have I missed something?

also regarding Js-kit
it looks simple to use , to me , cannot see anything confusing at first sight
albertoxic on twitter
- Evan Kline Reply December 22, 2009 at 9:25 pm
  
  I wish I had an answer for you, Albert. It’s been so long since I’ve used IntenseDebate, that I don’t know if you missed something or not.
Cahya Reply January 11, 2010 at 1:05 pm

I wish something would be appear as a good option :)
albert Reply January 12, 2010 at 3:04 am

Hello again
I finally run Disqus
not to shure tough if comments go to twitter
is there a trick to pay attention to
to get twitter link correct?
Thanks
- Evan Kline Reply January 12, 2010 at 9:29 am
  
  It’s been a while since I’ve used Disqus, but you may want to check out your account settings in disqus.com, and see if there is an option there for that.
Amy @ Thoughts of THAT Mom Reply January 26, 2010 at 1:01 am

I’m currently still using the Blogger commenting platform. I only get a couple of comments on each of my blogs, but I get a good number on my Facebook & Twitter pages. I’d really like to find something (like JS-Kit) that will allow me to consolidate all comments from my blog, Facebook, Twitter to my blog.

I like the functionality that JS-Kit appears to offer my readers, but I’m a bit nervous about the issues on the back-end that I’ve heard discussed. I have little programming experience and need something that is user-friendly. I’m willing to pay the $12/year, but not for something that will just be a big headache.
- Evan Kline Reply January 26, 2010 at 9:48 am
  
  Way back when I tried it, Echo was the most complicated, but mostly because it seemed more customizable, if I recall. That was a while ago, tough. If I remember right, it was pretty easy to go with the “out of the box” settings.
  - Amy @ Thoughts of THAT Mom January 27, 2010 at 1:41 pm
    
    Thanks! That makes me feel much better about it.
- TSG Reply February 2, 2010 at 6:38 am
  
  Amy, I installed Disqus on my blog. It’s very very good.
  
  I wrote some instructions if you get stuck
  http://tvtechgirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/supercharge-your-blog-comments-with.html
John Reply February 4, 2010 at 9:20 pm

Have you found a good WP plugin that let’s you re-tweet comments, or share comments? I can’t seem to find anything other than using ID or Disqus.

Thanks,
John
.-= John´s last blog ..The Investigation is Launched =-.
- Evan Kline Reply February 5, 2010 at 11:23 am
  
  I would have to think somebody made something that does that, but I don’t know of anything off hand, no. If you find something, though, I’d love to hear about it.
Matt Jurek Reply February 13, 2010 at 12:53 pm

I have had numerous issues with Echo, right now I cannot update to the latest version without messing up my site :(.
Nancy Bond Reply February 16, 2010 at 3:13 pm

I like reading a blog and I put the comment to blog with the help of Disqus.I think Disqus is too greater than Intense Debate because when we used Disqus that time we used Facebook,Twitter,Open Id..
Kenneth Reply February 22, 2010 at 8:54 pm

Blog comments are a GREAT way to get backlinks and traffic! Not sure why more people don
Julianna Nelson Reply March 16, 2010 at 11:41 am

I am a happy Disqus customer. Implementing Disqus comments on this blog, enabling people to track their conversations around the Web
ishmaeldaro Reply March 28, 2010 at 7:41 pm

Thanks for the reviews. I recently implemented Intense Debate on a site I run and I’m mostly happy with it. I share your frustration with being linked to a person’s Intense Debate profile rather than their blog/site.

JS-Kit seems rather elegant but I’m looking for something free.

Great post.
- Evan Kline Reply March 28, 2010 at 9:14 pm
  
  Since I wrote the post, I’ve gone back to the stock WordPress commenting system. I’ve always wondered about going back to something else. It’s a bummer that Intense Debate still links to the profile.
  - Dmitry September 6, 2011 at 6:43 pm
    
    cool -)
Daina Hayes Reply March 29, 2010 at 11:11 am

Wow … this is a great blog! Pretty informative as well! That has really helped me a lot in learning some of this stuff that I wasn’t familiar with.
- Nabeel Reply April 14, 2010 at 10:40 pm
  
  I am using the same commenting system and plugins that you are using on your blog currently.
  
  I wanted to know if i should use any of these 3 commenting systems, but honestly, still confused :s
Jason Reply May 12, 2010 at 1:29 am

My vote goes to disqus. I run it on multiple websites and have not had a problem yet.
Daniel Reply May 21, 2010 at 4:53 pm

I have no problems with the wordpress commenting system.
- Global Outsourcing Manager Reply July 27, 2010 at 5:05 am
  
  You dont have problems with wordpress but much persons got problem with wordpress etc themes and plugins. WordPress easy to install but little a bit hard to configure. anyway I am glad for you that you dont have problem with wordpress ;)
Tom Reply May 23, 2010 at 5:57 pm

All very good ideas on commenting systems! I’ve used JS-Kit before and found it easy to implement.
Now though, I haven’t seen any further comments on JS Echo, but it now is no longer $12/yr, it is $99/yr.
Does that seem like a lot to anyone excpet me?
There is another freebie out there which I’ve used, Google “Old Guy Scripts”, that is fabulous.
Since I cannot get Plesk to let me change permissions on my databases, I am forced to find another host or simply use an i-frame based system which doesn’t care about DB permissons.

tt
Herbert Reply May 28, 2010 at 1:03 am

I think intense debate works the best over disqus, but i haven’t heard of the js kit.
.-= Herbert´s last blog ..Chegg Promo Code CC128281 =-.
finid Reply June 2, 2010 at 2:27 pm

I’ve been thinking about using one of these commenting systems for my site, but after reading this article, I think I’ll pass until something better comes along, or until IntenseDebate takes care of its cons.
santhosh Reply June 29, 2010 at 2:57 am

I’m currently still using the Blogger commenting platform. I only get a couple of comments on each of my blogs, but I get a good number on my Facebook & Twitter pages. I’d really like to find something (like JS-Kit) that will allow me to consolidate all comments from my blog, Facebook, Twitter to my blog.

I like the functionality that JS-Kit appears to offer my readers, but I’m a bit nervous about the issues on the back-end that I’ve heard discussed. I have little programming experience and need something that is user-friendly. I’m willing to pay the $12/year, but not for something that will just be a big headache.
Michael Ashworth Reply July 5, 2010 at 10:50 am

Hi Evan,

Great article. I just stumbled across this asI have just written a similar article on next generation commenting here:

http://blog.nublue.co.uk/next-generation-website-commenting-options-reviewed/

We use Echo ourselves on our website and so far so good. Took a while to get it all working but it seems to be ticking away nicely now :)
- Evan Kline Reply July 5, 2010 at 8:30 pm
  
  Very nice, Michael. It’s nice to see an article bring this up to date, since this one is now several months old.
Dhruv Reply July 31, 2010 at 1:35 am

I am using Disqus, it’s good. Since my site is based on Joomla and doesn’t have a default commenting system, Disqus is a great choice. Since base default system for Joomla are commercial and do not even support social media.
Jason Manheim Reply September 4, 2010 at 4:26 pm

Have you thought about giving either one another shot? It seems most complaints around the web have been dealt with. I went with IntenseDebate and it seems great so far.
Jason Manheim´s last post ..8 Steps to Launching a Blog
- Evan Kline Reply September 6, 2010 at 8:55 am
  
  I have been thinking about it, Jason. I think it would come down to Disqus or Intense Debate if I switched, because JS-Kit Echo is a bit too pricey right now.
kids video camera Reply September 9, 2010 at 7:13 pm

Disqus has a very good product, probably better than what IntenseDebate is offering at this time. This balance could swing very quickly as IntenseDebate adds new functionality, and the 900lb gorilla in the corner (Automattic) can’t be ignored. I am putting my money on IntenseDebate due to this alone.
Rick Reply November 19, 2010 at 9:11 am

Private commenting capability? I’m looking for a comment management tool that provides various levels of privacy for my group and sub-groups. Some comments should only be seen by certain people in our situation…. We recognize that some sort of licensing agreement might be needed to get this using a third party company. Thoughts?
- Evan Kline Reply November 19, 2010 at 9:19 am
  
  Interesting idea, Rick. I imagine that would have a smaller audience (and thus have less developer resources devoted to it), but I could certainly see its utility on certain types of sites. I’m not aware of anyone who offers this, but I know some of these commenting systems have undergone updates since this article was written.
  - Rick November 19, 2010 at 9:30 am
    
    My not make customized privacy an upgrade? Philosophically, this contradicts the idea of open collective intelligence power… However, for some orgs, it’s simply not legal for certain comments to be made on certain topics, and yet those commenters would still like to have the discussion with those legally allowed to engage in the discussion… and perhaps, the discussion would be made public in the future…
    That said, maybe I just need to get my programmers to make an internally-logged commenting system. I’d rather not do that because an existing org (Echo, Intense, Disqus, e.g.) has already thought thru many of the issues we will encounter.
Roa Reply December 6, 2010 at 4:17 pm

Personally I like Disqus, but now I’m thinking of whether I should implement wordpress on my blog’s commenting system right now, nothing is up yet.
Funvblog Reply February 5, 2011 at 2:15 am

Nice article, I like you comparison, currently my blog using disqus but we will think about likes and dislikes

Thanks for Nice article
Catherine A. Murphy Reply March 8, 2011 at 1:26 am

I also want to use Disqus on my WP blog, because i like its comments box.
Dodi Herudi Reply April 9, 2011 at 7:51 pm

hi…
thanks for your reference!
i just try Disqus on my blog http://idoodie.blogspot.com
^_^ nice interface n can use on mobile phone…
wondering Reply April 17, 2011 at 11:05 pm

wondering what comment system and plugins you use now on the blog. wordpress gives too much spam. thanks
- Evan Kline Reply April 18, 2011 at 9:50 am
  
  I’m back to the default WordPress comment system. I had used Disqus for a while, but I was running into some bugs with it. That was quite a while ago, though.
  
  I do use the Akismet plugin, which seems to catch almost all spam here.
Aaron Reply May 12, 2011 at 10:21 am

I prefer Disqus for a couple simple reasons.

1. It allows ME to quickly comment on websites. (and with the LastPass extension, even logging in takes only a second)

2. I have multiple blogs on multiple platforms. Yes, I’m one of those indecisive-haven’t-quite-made-up-my-mind-yet bloggers. But Disqus also allows me to manage all my comments on ALL of my blogs.

I wish commenting services would yet even be more open, however, because since the web is so vast and there are so many blogs, websites and commenting systems out there, there really is no way to track ALL of them. I wish they could all work together so that no matter what commenting system YOU prefer on your blog, followers could track their comments on WordPress IN Disqus and vice versa.
- Evan Kline Reply May 12, 2011 at 5:22 pm
  
  Great comment, Aaron! That would be awesome if there were a unified way to track comments across all blogs. I guess for now, email notifications is the only way to do it.
AppsLogy Reply July 1, 2011 at 8:52 am

I am still thinking what system I should be using. Intense Debate, Disqus, Livefyre, or commentluv.
AppsLogy´s last post ..ZAAG–Lifetime Replacement Guarantee on apple accessories
- Evan Kline Reply July 3, 2011 at 10:50 am
  
  I haven’t heard of Livefyre. I’ll have to take a look.
  - Kalyan July 3, 2011 at 1:16 pm
    
    I decided to use commentluv plugin. its working great.
    Kalyan´s last post ..LaDiDa #1 Music App in 15 Countries Says Khu.sh
jumpdates Reply July 20, 2011 at 3:30 am

I go for disqus .. I have been using this my website and it is working well and keeping spammers away
- Evan Kline Reply July 25, 2011 at 12:47 pm
  
  Disqus is nice – but for a couple of quirks, we’d probably still be using it here.
Aaron Reply July 20, 2011 at 9:54 am

I just recently found another commenting system called Livefyre. Has anyone used it? How does it compare to Disqus and these others?
Aaron´s last post ..A Whole New Meaning to the Phrase "My Computer Crashed" — Google’s Driverless Cars Are Now Legal in Nevada
- Evan Kline Reply July 25, 2011 at 12:46 pm
  
  I’ve heard of it, and it looks interesting, but I haven’t tried it out. I’d be interested in hearing from people who’ve used it.
Hayley Reply July 22, 2011 at 9:21 am

I have never used Disqus before, but it seems a really great choice. I’ve never seen many blogs using it, however.

I have, however, seen many CommentLuv blogs and everyone says it does increase traffic and it motivates visitors to post comments!

Most probably I’ll start using CommentLuv myself! Thanks for showing alternatives!
Hayley´s last post ..How Singing Can Improve Teens Self-esteem
- Evan Kline Reply July 25, 2011 at 12:49 pm
  
  You’re welcome, Hayley. I haven’t done any sort of analysis to see if CommentLuv increases traffic, but it does seem to increase comments and user engagement, which is nice.
  - test ed September 5, 2011 at 2:06 pm
    
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Kateruhe Reply August 11, 2011 at 2:53 pm

thanks for great info, this is great tools for blog comments
melody Reply August 11, 2011 at 9:08 pm

I think this is the perfect site to discuss matters about those topics, thank you for sharing all of your thoughts, I’m gaining knowledge..
melody´s last post ..Young Driver Insurance – The Best Strategy to Save You Money!
Lily Reply September 27, 2011 at 5:25 am

WordPress and Blogger still win for me! Although Disqus seems to come close. I agree with your dislike points.

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SEO Singapore Reply October 4, 2011 at 1:03 am

I just bump into a new thing they call it lyvefire. I think it’s cool almost like disqus.
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- Evan Kline Reply October 4, 2011 at 4:01 pm
  
  Looks cool. If it weren’t such a big undertaking, I’d try it out here. Back when I wrote this post, we were in our early days without much traffic or comments, so it was much easier to change the site back then.
server cabinets Reply November 1, 2011 at 4:41 am

very nice and informative blog.Well I will prefer wordpress for blog commenting platform as it easier to handle.How ever disqus is also great.Thanks for sharing.
- Evan Kline Reply November 5, 2011 at 9:38 am
  
  That’s what it came down to for me, too. Maybe it has since changed, but we were having issues way back when we used Disqus, which is why we switched back to the native WordPress commenting.