Morrolinux: The Economics of Open Source
According to reports from SNS and Global Market Insights, the open source market is currently valued at $30 billion and is projected to reach $120 billion within the next decade. But how can such a massive market exist around software that is, by definition, free to use and redistribute? Let’s break it down, starting from individual developers.
From Developer to Donor-Funded
Many open source maintainers sustain their work through donations or consulting. Take Evan You, creator of Vue.js and Vite: since 2016, he’s funded his development work through platforms like GitHub Sponsors and Patreon. At one point, donations reached over $15,000/month, largely thanks to support from corporate sponsors like Y Combinator.
Another example is Daniel Stenberg, the author of cURL, one of the most popular tools for web downloads. Daniel funds his work by offering consulting services to companies that rely on cURL, making his expertise and the project sustainable.
From Side Hustle to Startup
Open source developers often go one step further, forming companies. Evan You went on to launch VoidZero, a startup that raised $4.6 million in seed funding and now maintains popular frontend tools like Vite and OXC.
The KDE ecosystem saw a similar move with TechPaladin, co-founded by KDE and Plasma contributors. Their clients include Valve, which uses KDE in Steam Deck’s desktop mode.
The maintainers of game engine Godot created W4 Games to provide consulting services built around the engine’s growing community.
Strength in Foundations and Community Funding
The Blender Foundation combines donations from 7,000+ individuals and 35+ companies, including NVIDIA, AMD, Meta, and BMW. This brings in over €200,000 per month to fund full-time developers.
Blender also supports a commercial ecosystem. Blender Market provides a platform for artists and developers to sell assets and plugins.
Business Models: Open Core and Dual Licensing
Some companies adopt an open-core model: the core is open source, with premium features under a commercial license. GitLab and HashiCorp follow this model, with products like Terraform and Vault offering enterprise-only features.
Others prefer dual licensing. For example, MySQL (prior to Oracle’s acquisition) offered both GPL and commercial versions. The Qt framework does the same: GPL for open source projects, commercial for proprietary use. The videoconferencing tool MiroTalk offers dual licensing as well, free under GPL, or a paid license for proprietary needs.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
WordPress, Ghost, and Nextcloud offer managed hosting alongside self-hosted options. Many users prefer paying for these services instead of maintaining their own infrastructure.
Nextcloud Enterprise offers support and deployment services, with plans starting from €37 per user/month, up to nearly €200 depending on needs. For individuals, Hetzner offers hosted Nextcloud at competitive rates, often rivalling proprietary services like Google Drive.
Advertising, Product Placement, and Privacy Concerns
Mozilla still earns roughly 80% of its revenue through its search deal with Google, but this raises sustainability and privacy questions. Similarly, Canonical briefly introduced Amazon ads into Ubuntu’s UI in 2012, a move quickly reversed after public backlash.
Canonical now generates revenue through services such as Ubuntu Pro, OEM partnerships with HP and Lenovo, and enterprise consulting.
Other success stories include Red Hat with its Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE with its SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, both supported by robust B2B ecosystems.
The Role of the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation brings structure to enterprise-scale open source. With members including Microsoft, Huawei, Samsung, Meta, and Intel, the foundation channels hundreds of millions into open-source development annually.
Open source is no longer a fringe movement: it’s a critical component of modern software development. From passion projects and Patreon pages to full-fledged companies and enterprise services, the ecosystem continues to grow. And while there’s no one-size-fits-all model, one thing is clear: open source has never been more vital (or more valuable).
For a deeper dive into how developers and organizations generate sustainable income through open source, watch Moreno Razzoli’s video:
€15k AL MESE sviluppando Software Open Source da freelance. Com’è possibile? (€15k PER MONTH developing Open Source Software as a freelancer. How is this possible?)
About Moreno Razzoli:
