Open Core Models
Can Open Source and Business coexist?
๐งต1/ OK, This is interesting. Nodemailer's developer, Andris Reinman, shared his shift from open-source idealism to a thriving business, EmailEngine. A tale of lessons, shifts, and success.
๐งต2/ His new approach is the Open Core Model. You offer a core version of a software open-source, while additional services (such as hosted services) are paid offerings. I would even say @nextjs is partially open-core, given its strong ties to the @vercel framework.
๐งต3/ Starting with a radical open-source ethos, Andris prioritized reach over revenue, using permissive licenses for projects like Nodemailer. A noble yet financially unrewarding path.
๐งต4/ The turning point? A startup using Nodemailer was acquired for $500M, leaving Andris to ponder the value of his contributions against his financial struggles.
๐งต5/ Transitioning to EmailEngine, Andris adopted the AGPL license and a strict CLA process, aiming to safeguard his work and finally monetize his efforts.
๐งต6/ The initial business model was a mix: AGPL for free, with a subscription for an MIT license. Despite high hopes, the reality was a modest โฌ750 in 1.5 years.
๐งต7/ A pivot to a professional UI and a license key system marked a new era. EmailEngine moved to a commercial license, balancing public access with revenue generation.
๐งต8/ The shift paid off, with subscription sales jumping in the first month. Incremental price increases further boosted revenue, debunking fears of losing customers.
๐งต9/ Today, EmailEngine's steady MRR allows Andris to focus full-time on the project, a dream realized. The lesson? The value of evolving from free open-source to a sustainable business model.
๐งต10/ Andris's story is a reminder that adapting and finding a balance between open-source ideals and commercial needs can lead to both personal and project success.
๐งต11/ A journey from open-source purism to profitable business, Andris Reinman's experience with EmailEngine is a playbook for developers navigating the complex path from passion to livelihood.
๐งต/End: Andris's tale underscores the importance of flexibility, strategic shifts, and the courage to monetize one's hard work. A valuable lesson for open-source developers everywhere.
How I turned my open-source project into a business
Open Source vs Source Available
- useplunk/plunk: The Open-Source Email Platform
- TryGhost/Ghost: Independent technology for modern publishing, memberships, subscriptions and newsletters.
- supabase/supabase: The open source Firebase alternative.
- overleaf/overleaf: A web-based collaborative LaTeX editor
- CapSoftware/Cap: Open source Loom alternative. Effortless, instant screen sharing.
- reactioncommerce/reaction: Mailchimp Open Commerce is an API-first, headless commerce platform built using Node.js, React, GraphQL. Deployed via Docker and Kubernetes.
- medusajs/medusa: Building blocks for digital commerce
- AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy: Bring projects, wikis, and teams together with AI. AppFlowy is an AI collaborative workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data. The best open source alternative to Notion.
- meilisearch/meilisearch: A lightning-fast search API that fits effortlessly into your apps, websites, and workflow
- plausible/analytics: Simple, open source, lightweight (< 1 KB) and privacy-friendly web analytics alternative to Google Analytics.
- novuhq/novu: Open-Source Notification Platform. Embeddable Notification Center, E-mail, Push and Slack Integrations.
- jitsucom/jitsu: Jitsu is an open-source Segment alternative. Fully-scriptable data ingestion engine for modern data teams. Set-up a real-time data pipeline in minutes, not days
- boxyhq/jackson: ๐ฅ Streamline your web application's authentication with Jackson, an SSO service supporting SAML and OpenID Connect protocols. Beyond enterprise-grade Single Sign-On, it also supports Directory Sync via the SCIM 2.0 protocol for automatic user and group provisioning/de-provisioning. ๐คฉ
- coollabsio/coolify: An open-source & self-hostable Heroku / Netlify / Vercel alternative.
- hoppscotch/hoppscotch: Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io (open-source alternative to Postman, Insomnia)
- nocodb/nocodb: ๐ฅ ๐ฅ ๐ฅ Open Source Airtable Alternative
- zulip/zulip: Zulip server and web application. Open-source team chat that helps teams stay productive and focused.
- bitwarden/server: Bitwarden infrastructure/backend (API, database, Docker, etc).
- calcom/cal.com: Scheduling infrastructure for absolutely everyone.
- mattermost/mattermost: Mattermost is an open source platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle.
- RocketChat/Rocket.Chat: The communications platform that puts data protection first.
- supertokens/supertokens-core: Open source alternative to Auth0 / Firebase Auth / AWS Cognito
- appsmithorg/appsmith: Platform to build admin panels, internal tools, and dashboards. Integrates with 25+ databases and any API.
- Unleash/unleash: Open-source feature management solution built for developers.
- mattermost/focalboard Focalboard is an open source, self-hosted alternative to Trello, Notion, and Asana.
- Lago
- taubyte/tau: Open source distributed Platform as a Service (PaaS). A self-hosted Vercel / Netlify / Cloudflare alternative.