Goal

Revenue

Revenue from open source work. This page compares paid support, subscriptions, content, and other income paths for maintainers and contributors.

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, and Scarf.

9

Support & Services live / 13 total

5

Commercial Access live / 9 total

8

Content live / 12 total

2

Advertising live / 3 total

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.

Algora

Algora

Algora helps maintainers and contributors earn through bounties, contract work, and open source recruiting.
CodeBuddy

CodeBuddy

CodeBuddy is a software-development services business that combines productized engineering help with an AI-assisted build workflow.
Codementor

Codementor

Codementor is an on-demand marketplace for software developers with live 1:1 help, long-term mentorship, freelance jobs and code reviews.
Fiverr

Fiverr

Fiverr is a global freelance marketplace where individuals sell digital services, project work, and packaged expertise.
Open Source Design

Open Source Design

A community of designers and developers pushing open design processes and improving design of open source software.
OpenTeams

OpenTeams

OpenTeams provides custom AI and open-source-based software solutions for enterprise and public-sector customers.
Scarf

Scarf

Scarf helps open source maintainers and companies measure package usage and identify commercial leads from OSS adoption.
Tidelift

Tidelift

Tidelift pays maintainers through enterprise subscriptions that fund security, maintenance, and long-term support work.
Upwork

Upwork

Upwork is a large freelance marketplace where companies hire independent professionals and agencies for project-based work.
Historical examples: 3 discontinued listings

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.

Historical examples: 4 discontinued listings

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.

Historical examples: 4 discontinued listings

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.

Historical examples: 1 discontinued listings