Sustainability Pillar
Revenue for Open Source Projects
Revenue is different from funding. Funding is external support for the work; revenue is income earned by selling something useful around the project, team, or expertise.
Use this page to compare revenue models such as paid support, gated products, content, advertising, and other maintainer-led income streams. Strong starting points include Tidelift, Gumroad, Scarf, and Otechie.
Support & Services
Commercial Access
Content
Advertising
Revenue subtype
Support & Services
Paid support, maintenance, consulting, or service-backed revenue around OSS projects.
When to use it: Use this when your project creates expertise or operational value that companies will pay for directly.
BackYourStack
CodeBuddy
Codementor
Ellcrys
Fundabit
GitFund
Lyfevest
OpenTeams
Otechie
Tidelift
Revenue subtype
Commercial Access
Commercial licensing, gated access, premium usage, or open-core revenue tied to a project or product.
When to use it: Best when you can package ongoing value into a product, hosted service, premium tier, or commercial terms.
Bytepack
Code Code Ship
Gitstore
Gumroad
IndieMaker
License Zero
PrivJs
Scarf
XS Code
Revenue subtype
Content
Books, courses, paid learning, or creator-led content built around an OSS domain.
When to use it: Use this when the project creates educational demand or a recognizable expert audience.
Apt-get Shirt
Coil
Egghead
Ghost
Leanpub
Memberful
MemberSpace
Substack
Teachable
Udemy
Revenue subtype
Advertising
Audience monetization through sponsorships, ad inventory, or traffic-linked demand.
When to use it: Use this when the project or surrounding content has enough reach to support ad-based income.
Carbon Ads
CodeFund
EthicalAds
