The Open Source Revenue Problem
You've spent 6 months building a project. It has 2,000 GitHub stars, 50 forks, and 10,000 npm downloads per week. Your revenue from it? Exactly ₦0.
This is the reality for most African open source maintainers. You build something valuable, give it away, and starve. It doesn't have to be this way.
Open source monetization is not selling out. It's sustaining the work so you can keep building.
The Five Revenue Models
| Model | How It Works | Revenue Potential | Effort Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Sponsors | Direct monthly donations | ₦50k–₦300k/month | Low |
| Premium features | Paid tier with advanced features | ₦200k–₦2M/month | Medium |
| Consulting/support | Paid implementation help | ₦500k–₦5M/month | High |
| Managed hosting | Run it for them | ₦300k–₦3M/month | Medium |
| Dual licensing | Free for non-commercial, paid for commercial | ₦200k–₦5M/month | Low |
Model 1: GitHub Sponsors
The simplest model. Add a sponsor button to your repo and let users fund your work.
Setting It Up
- Go to github.com/sponsors and apply
- Create 3–4 sponsorship tiers
- Add sponsor config to your repo
# .github/FUNDING.yml
github: yourusername
patreon: yourusername
custom: ['https://selar.com/your-support-page']Pricing Tiers
| Tier | Monthly Price | What Sponsors Get |
|---|---|---|
| Supporter | $5/month (₦7,500) | Name in README |
| Backer | $25/month (₦37,500) | Name in README + Discord badge |
| Sponsor | $100/month (₦150,000) | Logo on website + priority issues |
| Gold Sponsor | $500/month (₦750,000) | Logo in repo + co-marketing |
What Actually Gets Sponsors
- Companies using your project in production (they want it maintained)
- Developer tooling companies (they want visibility with your users)
- Consulting firms (they want their logo seen by potential clients)
- Individuals who appreciate your work (lower tiers)
Realistic expectation: 1 sponsor per 500 stars at the $5–$25 level. A project with 5,000 stars might get 10 sponsors = $250/month (₦375,000).
Model 2: Premium Features (Open Core)
Keep the core project free. Charge for advanced features that businesses need.
| Free Tier | Premium Tier |
|---|---|
| Basic functionality | Advanced analytics |
| Community support | Priority support |
| Single user | Team features |
| Self-hosted only | Cloud-hosted option |
| Standard performance | Optimized performance |
Example: Nigerian Dev's Story
A Lagos developer built an open source PDF generation library. Free tier: basic PDF creation. Premium tier (₦15,000/month): template engine, batch processing, and API access. Within 6 months, 40 companies were paying for the premium tier.
Model 3: Consulting and Support
Companies using your project will pay for your expertise.
| Service | Price | Typical Client |
|---|---|---|
| 1-hour consultation | ₦30,000–₦50,000 | Small companies |
| Implementation package | ₦150,000–₦500,000 | Mid-size companies |
| Monthly retainer | ₦200,000–₦800,000/month | Companies in production |
| Custom feature development | ₦100,000–₦500,000/feature | Companies with specific needs |
Add a "Hire me" section to your README:
## Need Help?
I offer consulting and implementation services for [Project Name].
- Setup and deployment: ₦150,000
- Custom feature development: Starting at ₦100,000
- Monthly support retainer: ₦200,000/month
Email: you@example.comModel 4: Managed Hosting
If your project is complex to deploy, run it for them.
| Plan | Price | What's Included |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | ₦10,000/month | 1 instance, 1GB storage |
| Professional | ₦30,000/month | 3 instances, 10GB, priority support |
| Business | ₦80,000/month | Unlimited instances, 100GB, SLA |
This is how Supabase, PostHog, and Cal.com make millions — open source core + managed hosting.
Revenue Projections for a Growing Project
| Stars | Sponsors | Premium Users | Consulting | Monthly Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 2 ($50) | 0 | 1 client | ₦125,000 |
| 2,000 | 8 ($200) | 5 (₦75k) | 2 clients | ₦405,000 |
| 5,000 | 15 ($500) | 15 (₦225k) | 3 clients | ₦975,000 |
| 10,000 | 30 ($1,000) | 40 (₦600k) | 5 clients | ₦2,350,000 |
What Doesn't Work
| Approach | Why It Fails | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Asking for donations without tiers | People don't know what to give | Set clear sponsorship tiers |
| Putting everything behind a paywall | No adoption, no users | Free core, paid premium |
| Waiting for sponsors to find you | They won't | Pitch companies using your project |
| No README section about support | Nobody knows you offer it | Add "Hire me" and sponsor sections |
| Ignoring corporate users | They have budget, you don't ask | Track who stars/forks, reach out |
Open source is not the opposite of revenue. It's the top of your funnel. Build in public, give away the core, and charge for what businesses truly need.
