Open source funding like GitHub Sponsors
Get paid for open source work - sponsorships and support income for maintainers. Vetted platforms are marked.
Updated
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Typical earnings: Most earn little - 60% of maintainers are unpaid, only 12% earn most income from it (Tidelift 2024) source ↗
Best for: Maintainers of widely used open source projects with an engaged user base
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Compare the top 5 open source funding platforms
| Platform | Fees | Minimum payout | Payout speed | Pays via | Who can join |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Liberapay
|
No platform fee - payment processing only | — | — | Bank transfer, PayPal | 112 countries |
 GitHub Sponsors
|
No platform fee on personal sponsorships | — | — | Bank transfer (Stripe) | 103 countries |
 Polar
|
4% plus 40 cents per transaction | — | — | Bank transfer (Stripe) | Worldwide |
 Tidelift
|
Pays maintainers per package by usage | — | — | Bank transfer | Worldwide |
 Open Collective
|
Platform and fiscal host fees vary | — | — | Bank transfer, PayPal | Worldwide |
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All 5 open source funding platforms
Vetted platforms screen people before they can join
TideliftPays open source maintainers (as lifters) for keeping packages secure and well-maintained, funded by enterprise subscriptions.
tidelift.com45 viewsGitHub SponsorsSponsorship directly inside GitHub - developers and organizations fund your open source work monthly or one-time, with no platform fee on pe…
github.com54 viewsLiberapayA non-profit platform for recurrent donations to creators and maintainers - no platform fee, only payment processing costs.
liberapay.com44 viewsOpen CollectiveTransparent funding for open source projects and communities - collect sponsorships and donations, spend with full public accounting.
opencollective.com44 viewsPolarA funding and monetization platform for developers - sell licenses, subscriptions, and digital products on top of open source, acting as mer…
polar.sh60 views