THE PROBLEM
THE PROBLEM
Maintaining open source is exhausting when it doesn't pay the bills
THE FIX
Add commercial revenue streams: licenses for business use, hosted versions, or premium features. Revnu handles the commerce.
THE PROBLEM
GitHub Sponsors doesn't generate enough to be sustainable
THE FIX
Sponsorship works for some; commerce works for many more. Sell actual products alongside your open source work.
THE PROBLEM
Offering commercial licenses means building payment infrastructure
THE FIX
Revnu provides license key generation, checkout, and customer management. Add commerce without building commerce.
THE PROBLEM
Balancing open source ethos with commercial needs feels awkward
THE FIX
Many successful projects do both: open core with paid features, free for individuals but paid for business, or hosted vs self-hosted.
Sell licenses for business use of your open source project. License keys distinguish commercial vs open source users.
Sell managed hosting of your open source project. Subscription billing for hosted SaaS version.
Open core model: base project is open, advanced features require license. Gate features by license status.
Sell support subscriptions. Priority issues, direct access, guaranteed response times for paying customers.
Per-seat licensing for organizations. Teams get legitimate commercial use; you get sustainable revenue.
Companies can buy licenses without contacting you. Credit card checkout, instant license delivery.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
No piecing together 5 different tools. Revnu includes the complete infrastructure for selling software.
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Hosted Checkout | All plans |
| License Key Delivery | All plans |
| RevnuAuth SDK | All plans |
| Subscription Management | All plans |
| Affiliate System | All plans |
| Session Replays | Basic+ |
| A/B Testing | Grow+ |
| Custom Domains | All plans |
STARTING PRICE
$1/mo for 3 months
Then from $12/mo. No long-term contracts. Cancel anytime.
PRO TIPS
Maintainer burnout hurts everyone. Commercial revenue means showing up long-term for your community.
Open source for individuals. Commercial license for business use. Companies expect to pay for what they depend on.
$10K-100K+ annually for SLAs, support, and legitimacy. Build an enterprise tier. They'll find you.
Don't rug-pull features. Add new commercial value. Free users are your testers and advocates.
FAQ
License code under an open source license (MIT, GPL, etc.) plus offer commercial licenses for proprietary use. Revnu generates commercial license keys; your documentation explains when commercial licenses are required.
If done transparently, usually not. Many successful projects combine open source and commercial offerings. The key is keeping core value accessible while adding commercial options for businesses.
Research comparable tools. Per-seat pricing of $10-50/month is common for developer tools. Enterprise licenses typically $10K-100K+ annually. Start higher than you think — it's easier to discount than raise prices.
Consider free for small teams (under 5 developers) or startups (under $1M revenue). This builds goodwill and captures users who would pirate or switch anyway.
Enterprise typically wants: custom contracts, invoicing, SLAs, and security reviews. Handle contracts directly; use Revnu for self-service customers and invoicing for enterprise.
Sponsorships and commercial licenses aren't mutually exclusive. Some projects do both: sponsors for community funding, commercial licenses for business revenue.
Technical: license keys that unlock features or remove restrictions. Social: clear documentation and good faith from business users. Most companies want to pay for legitimate licenses.
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