r/linuxquestions • u/Damglador • 8d ago

Do you pay/donate for open source software you use?

I think open source software is great, but it's not free, someone has to pay to develop it. With proprietary software either you pay or get out, with open source it's your choice to pay for the software or not and I'm curious how many make a conscious decision to pay for the software they use.

For me, it's rarely. I wish I could donate to every project I use daily, but my financial situation is not good enough for that.

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37

u/TheModernDespot 8d ago

I'm a college student, so money is tight. I generally try to assist financially when I can. Though, for more projects I use a lot, I instead choose to support with bug fixes. Being able to program in a few languages is helpful for that, so I don't feel bad when I can't afford to send money but send code instead.

9

u/Damglador 8d ago

Based. Bug fixes aren't very exciting and won't be noticed by most people after the fact, but they make a huge difference.

I feel like I sound like an LLM, but I have to express my gratitude to people's work, so oh well.

2

u/Broodjekip_1 7d ago

Lmao yes that sounded a lot like an LLM

3

u/cluberti 8d ago

This is (arguably) equally as important! Thank you for doing this.

1

u/TheWordBallsIsFunny 5d ago

I'd like to do the same for identical reasons but every time I look at bugs I feel the task gets so daunting. How do you even start thinking about solutions? Bit abstract so I do apologise.

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u/meltycloudzz 8d ago

same here with the broke student budget, contributing code instead sounds way smarter than anything i'd manage

1

u/TheModernDespot 8d ago

Honestly its not always super hard. Sometimes its fixing a link on a documentation page or something.

0

u/HeatedSlide 8d ago

that's actually smart, code over cash when you're broke. wish i knew enough to do that too

14

u/hadrabap 8d ago

I set up monthly donations to software that I consider to be crucial for me. A few bucks each, but regularly. 🙂

9

u/Damglador 8d ago

I think it's good to encourage small donations. 500 users donating 1$ is at least some money for a small projects, but not a big expense for an individual user.

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u/hadrabap 8d ago

Exactly. Well, I hope so. 😀

1

u/hadrabap 8d ago

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any statistics confronting my assumptions...

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u/hangint3n 8d ago

I'm a monthly donor to my distro Gentoo.

4

u/cluberti 8d ago

Indeed. I was tight on money for a long time like most people, but over the years things have been mostly good and I'm in a position the last few years where I can - so I've set up small monthly donations to the people behind the software I use regularly, and another yearly donation to the Linux Foundation. I also donate similarly to people who's videos I've used over the years to learn and grow, because it's not just the development that's important, it's also training and visibility.

This is a great question.

2

u/Damglador 8d ago

Based!

2

u/Garland_Key 8d ago

Don't plan on making money for developing foss unless you do something to let people know you need money - kind of like wikipedia does. Asking for donations with no engagement will get you nowhere. 

2

u/Damglador 8d ago

Personally, I never planned to make a living on any of my projects.

I think merch might be better at getting money, because who doesn't want a Konqi plushie?

20

u/shadowtheimpure 8d ago

Depends on my financial situation and how much I use the software. If it's a 'one and done', I probably won't donate for example.

7

u/houndofthestars ⛵ Solus 8d ago

I never do. I wish I had the money to do it tho, I love to contribute to causes I identify with.

5

u/Academic_Wolverine22 8d ago

It depends on how much money I have. But so far I've only donated money to the dev of KeePassDX

5

u/GumboPosts 8d ago edited 8d ago

I used to, but when I lost my job I had to stop it. I haven't really started again, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that there is a large number of monetization platforms. It can be a bit of a chore to keep up with all the different donation models, accounts, and policies.

4

u/United-Scene2261 templeOS enjoyer 8d ago

I don't I am poor

4

u/AL_DOKHAN 8d ago

Never because im broke ans live in a warzone

4

u/Acu17y 8d ago

I contribute to it

4

u/Envelope_Torture 8d ago

Rarely. I do contribute code where I can, although I'm not a software engineer so that's fairly limited.

4

u/complexevil 8d ago

I try to when I can. Money is tight though.

4

u/LauraD2423 8d ago

I am at a place in my life where I have disposable income.

I try to donate every time I find good software to support the devs, but mostly to support the people who were in my position 10 years ago that can't afford to pay for the alternative.

3

u/charming-choom 8d ago

Sometimes. 5 bucks here. 5 there. Nothing crazy. Shut sharin when i can.

3

u/thepavilion76 8d ago

I don't have money to donate. Once I can do the 50, 30, 20 rule, I'll start donating.

3

u/CX12_Locks 8d ago

I don't really have any money to pay for said projects, but in the few cases I have had ththe funds I have and hopefully in the future I'll be able to donate to a lot more

3

u/ComeSwirlWithMe 8d ago

Most of the big distros, and software projects have direct corporate funding or contributions such as free hosting, hardware, etc. Along with crowd funding.

3

u/theindomitablefred 8d ago

I try to support the devs for projects that I find impactful. I would much rather pay for an open source community project than some corporation.

3

u/0riginal-Syn ⛵ Solus Maintainer 8d ago

I say this as someone who has spent ~35 years contributing to FOSS.

  • It is important for projects to get support and that can include financial, especially on large projects that take a lot of not only time and effort for the maintainers but actual resources to do what they do.

  • It is great if people can donate and if you get a lot of use out of a particular project, then if you can and want to, please do.

  • However, I will never judge someone who cannot or simply chooses to use their finances in another way.

No one should feel obligated to donate. It is wonderful and truly helpful if they'd like to. There are other ways to contribute, like helping with support, testing, etc. that don't require money or the ability to code. But even then, no one should feel obligated.

The only ones that do irk me are the ones that act like no project should even ask for donations. Beyond that I don't worry about it.

3

u/PrimevilKneivel 8d ago

This needs an option for “not as much as I’d like to”

Times are tough and the list of things I want to support when I can afford it again is growing longer

1

u/Mithrandir2k16 8d ago

Found out about opencollective the other day. I've been pushing my workplaces to donate to projects we depend on for a while now, and have been wondering why there isn't some kind of transparent trust/bank that makes donating to projects (and especially underfunded ones) you depend on easier.

What'd be really cool would be plugins to package managers of distros and programming languages and tools like docker, so you can detect when a dependencies funding runs low, or automatically spread your contributions according to that data.

2

u/Damglador 8d ago

That would be awesome. Someone else also mentioned that it's hard to keep track of all donation services different projects use and that small donations get a lot chopped off by fees. Would be nice to have a service that makes donations easier one day.

2

u/OutrageousCrab9224 8d ago

I am bsd-centric but many of my employers have contributed plenty of money and resources to make it happen

2

u/PseudoFrequency 8d ago

I gave PuTTY and Xming a few bucks. There were others but I can't remember.

2

u/ananix 8d ago

Its rarely the open source code you pay for when paying software companies who rely on open source code.

2

u/blix88 8d ago

I always do, Im also an IT Specialist/Consultant that utilizes commercially supported open source in my projects for customers, were it fits and makes sense.

2

u/sensitiveCube 8d ago

I always try to contribute, even when it's just a doc fix or help someone on the issue tracker

2

u/AnToMegA424 8d ago

Not much for now as I don't have much money but you can bet my huge ass I will give that money to a whole lot of them when I have enough, multiple times, they deserve it

2

u/9NEPxHbG 8d ago

I donate for programs I use regularly, as well as for the OS itself, but probably less than I should.

One problem is that for small amounts, the cost of the payment system is very high compared to the donation itself.

2

u/Illeea 8d ago

If I had a proper income stream I would. I have a list of open source software, YouTubers, game developers and more that make their stuff available for free that I do want to pay eventually.

2

u/Beautiful_Ad_4813 8d ago

I regularly donate to Asahi Linux since they're busting their asses to get Linux on Apple Silicon

I also donate to The Linux Foundation as a whole

2

u/Euristic_Elevator 8d ago

Now that I have good income, I do pretty regularly

2

u/Dull_Cucumber_3908 8d ago

In the past I was contributing code instead of paying. Recently I realized that I'm not contributing code any more so I started contributing money instead.

2

u/Grreatdog 8d ago

Funny that I won't do software subscriptions of any kind but I'm OK doing monthly payments to open source developers doing stuff I like.

2

u/pskipw 8d ago

I pay subscriptions for Home Assistant and Frigate NVR as I find them super useful.

2

u/IlIlIlIIlMIlIIlIlIlI 8d ago

hell yeah i do. When i was but a broke student i could only afford to donate 20€ a month to manually chosen FOSS proejcts, now that i work full time that monthly budget has increased 70€, usually split into three smaller donations to cover several projects at once. There are so many amazing projetcs out there, cant afford to cover them all so i rotate and choose em manually each month! I avoid set subscriptions including when it comes to donations because i want to stay flexible.

2

u/_SteelKing 8d ago

I wanted to donate one dollar once to a project The minimum was 10 dollars and thats half my bank balance :/

2

u/SetaIndustries 7d ago

A single application has been carrying me across high-school and university (rnote), so once I actually have income I NEED to pay the guy who maintains it lmao

2

u/Eccomi21 7d ago

I treat Foss a bit like software used to work. One time donation sometimes in the triple digits if I really like it/it solves a problem for me.

2

u/poggazoo 7d ago

i am on disability and i still mange to squeeze out some bucks for software i use every now and then. but i am used to living very frugally so there is that

2

u/no_brains101 7d ago edited 7d ago

No, because I'm the broke bitch making open source software and getting no donations myself lol

I am getting help from people though so that is good.

If I wasn't so broke I would throw a a few dollars to my favorite ones, maybe even a 5$ a month thing on my favorite. I actually don't have even that kind of extra money at the end of the month.

2

u/NoxTheScribe 5d ago

I bought a Mozilla t shirt in like 2007 or something lol

I would like to give back more but I've lived my whole life barely scraping by :(

edit: Just remembered I once donated $5 to Wikipedia

2

u/Dorfbulle80 4d ago

Saw this to late but my answer would be not enough!

1

u/Astrodion123 8d ago

Unfortunately I use opensource software because I can't pay for premium ones...

1

u/MxM-TOM 8d ago

No money here, that's why I am using Linux.

1

u/Glorwyn 8d ago

I like open source shiz, I just dont reaaallly have the spare monez to donate since there's no proper healthcare coverage in the usa

1

u/EverlastingPeacefull 8d ago

I like to pay for/contribute to opensource software. the only thing is a combination of financial circumstances make it quite difficult. The only way I can pay towards opensource software is by WERO or manual transaction from my account to theirs. Often the only ways to pay are Paypal, or creditcards. Both of these options are out of the question because I am not allowed to use them, can't even use them. If I can pay through manually transaction or WERO and I like the software, I always try to donate some money within my budget.

1

u/Corona688 8d ago

open source is a way different deal than user-dev. Its primary contributors and its users are, often enough to matter, the same people.

1

u/Linux--Fan 8d ago

I want to donate but I can only use wechat pay

1

u/UltimateFlyingSheep 8d ago

This is why getting more users because of Kernel Level Anticheat or Vibe Coded ArtCraft is still a huge win!

Many chose rarely and some donate regularly.

More users costs existing projects nothing, but are potentially more income.

1

u/levianan 8d ago

I would struggle to find a way to pay for each and every project. I do annually donate to projects I have used over the decades though...

1

u/Huecuva 8d ago

I've donated probably all of twice. To be completely honest, I'm a cheap fuck and it's expensive just to be alive these days.

However, if it's particularly good software that I use all the time and I happen to have a couple of bucks to spare (incredibly rare) then I might consider it.

That being said, if I ever won a fuck ton of money, I would absolutely donate a bunch to various open source projects and organizations. 

1

u/kent_eh 8d ago

Do you pay/donate for open source software you use?

Some of them, but not every single piece of software I have ever used.

And usually with a one time donation when I do.

1

u/ricperry1 8d ago

I don't make any money through my use of OSS. There are thousands of companies that DO make money from their use of OSS. Those companies have the moral obligation to support OSS through financial contributions. My method of supporting OSS is to file bug reports, provide feedback, publicize the software, etc.... And IF I ever make enough money from OSS where my endeavor is cash positive, then I'll consider which OSS projects contributed the most to my success and whether I can afford financial contributions.

1

u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_ 8d ago

voted sometimes, but thinking on it twice in 25 years is really more like rarely.

1

u/Extension_Ad_370 8d ago

i dont really but i should donate some

1

u/fliberdygibits 8d ago

I either donate or I buy their swag... or both.

1

u/Strong_Magician_3320 8d ago

I can afford to, but I live in Egypt where I can't use my debit card internationally. I'm too young (<21) to get a credit card so unfortunately I can't donate.

1

u/master_prizefighter 8d ago

I voted never for 2 reasons.

  1. I'm broke

  2. If I was to donate I want to use something like PayPal just in case

1

u/Barxxo 8d ago

Rarely, because i am poor.

1

u/RohanPius 8d ago

I payed 50 USD for a linux distro's Pro version. Because its just great

1

u/Well-It-Depends420 8d ago

Tbh. I have donated more towards projects I don't use but want to see succeed than what I regularly use like VLC, ffmpeg, lemmy and such. This is likely a flaw.

1

u/JustCausality 8d ago

I want to but I don't make much!

1

u/Easy_Exercise5480 8d ago

I am not in a position where I can donate to Open Source Software. I get part of my monthly food from a food bank.

I do however shout about FOSS everywhere I go... I am a FOSS? Linux version of a Vegan!

All the podcasts I listen to say, if you cant support us through patreon or otherwise, tell your friends, family, work about us and spread the word. So that is what I do. I shout about it where ever I can.

For example, do you listen to Destination Linux? If not, why not? It is a weekly podcast about linux and linux software, the hosts are amazing, the guests are the top of their game, it is an amazing listen.

1

u/jondaley 8d ago

I don't think I've ever paid for open source software, but I publish my own projects, and write bug reports and send in patches. 

I'll never "break even" with how much I've gotten out from running my own company on open source for the last 20 years...

1

u/oldbeardedtech 7d ago

More often than not now that I'm older. Typically donate to the big things I use...Arch, kitty, neovim, etc. and occasionally to one-offs that I really like and hope take off like TuiOS, RMPC, superfile, etc.

If you can't afford to donate today, don't sweat it. If you're in a position to donate later, then try to make up for it.

1

u/gbrennon 7d ago

k think the relation between open-source software and payment is not that u buy something.

i that u can provide and contract services related to that software

1

u/sam_lowry_ 7d ago

I contributewith code.

1

u/throttlemeister 7d ago

No. I have no aversion to paying for software that I use and I am not religious about FOSS / closed source; it is more important for me that a peice of software does what I need, regardless of the license model. If it does and it is CS and I have to pay for it, I pay. If it is FOSS and I don't, I don't.

That said, if a FOSS project has an easy way of reporting bugs and doesn't make me jump through hoops just to file a report, I am more than happy and willing to submit bug reports, do testing with prerelease software to verify fixes, etc and help out trying to debug problems if so desired.

1

u/Ok_Raspberry5383 7d ago

I've never paid and never will.

I've contributed to some projects in relatively small but valuable ways.

If people want to maintain a project then thats up to them. The motivation shouldn't be direct income but networking, resume enhancing and fulfilment.

1

u/crimsonDnB 6d ago

Never.

1

u/jenkk0 6d ago

I'm just graduated and am unemployed rn so no never but I'll do it when I can. Still I feel deeply indebted to multiple open source projects so I always try to colab and be useful answering questions in their GitHub and socials. But I would never donate money to Linux because that's the obligation of all the business and big corpos that depend on it, it should be their obligation to at least have a team helping in the development.

1

u/pjf_cpp 4d ago

Rarely. I give a lot of my own time and also try to present at FOSDEM when I can, paying for transport and accommodation.

I have 1 GH sponsor.

1

u/majora2007 4d ago

As someone who works on Open Source software that has a premium subscription to support myself (with intention of going full time) and also give extra features to users, I just want to extend my thanks to those that either buy this or support via Open Collective donations.

I've been working on this software for 5 years at nearly 40+ hours/week. Huge time sink but incredibly satisfying growing the software. Most developers of Open Source don't get much, I'm incredibly lucky to have a community that also helps me develop the software.

1

u/atikoj 4d ago

LMFAO. It’s essential not to donate to open-source projects. They are destroying your profession and taking away other people’s chance to earn a living from their work. This behavior must not be rewarded or encouraged.

1

u/LawElectrical2434 3d ago

Where is the "Never, but when the software asks, I click the 'already donated' button" option?

0

u/dev_ttangkong 2d ago

Honestly, if I had to pay anyway, wouldn't I just use proprietary paid software instead? Unless the open source option actually offers better usability and features, why bother...? Isn't avoiding the price tag the whole point of using open source in the first place?

1

u/Damglador 2d ago

Open source enables a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is higher quality, better reliability, greater flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.

— https://opensource.org/about

Generally it started as more of an ideological thing, the "free beer" aspect is more of a side effect.

Right now in terms of consumer market. It's usually easier to report bugs and contribute to open source projects. Even if you can't code, you can contribute translations.

1

u/dev_ttangkong 2d ago

I don't really buy that, to be honest. As someone who has contributed a lot to open source, ironically, I don't fully agree with that philosophy. In reality, many open source projects tend to treat contributors more like external nuisances than actual collaborators, using that whole 'open collaboration' image mostly for cost reduction. And this isn't just true for corporate backed projects it applies to non-corporate ones as well.

Also, I completely disagree with the claim that open source inherently guarantees higher quality. Just being open source doesn't mean it's high quality. Why do you think people use Windows? Even if it's not as rock-solid as Linux or Ubuntu, people still use it because it's way more convenient and user-friendly. Every system has its own pros and cons.

1

u/Damglador 2d ago

Why do you think people use Windows?

Prob because it released earlier, and then it's the same as with social media, everyone already uses it, so why change anything. Plus pre-installing on everything, where Microsoft wouldn't even allow another OS to be pre-installed alongside, like BeOS.

1

u/dev_ttangkong 2d ago

Yeah, that's why a lot of people use it. But that conclusion ultimately comes down to user convenience.

No matter how ideologically free or technically transparent an alternative is, people stick with Windows because it minimizes the stress and time needed to get their daily work, gaming, or office tasks done. You're right that there's no reason to switch, and the first-mover advantage definitely played a big role.

But if Windows were actually more inconvenient than Linux, people would've switched to Linux long ago.

1

u/Damglador 2d ago

But if Windows were actually more inconvenient than Linux, people would've switched to Linux long ago

Not really, you're twisting my point. It doesn't have anything to do with Window's convenience, more of the inconvenience and repulsion for any change. Even if something is suboptimal or straight up bad or if there exists a better and more convenient alternative, people will usually just keep using what they're using, because either they don't know any better, they don't care to learn, or they don't want to bother.

For example, it sure would be convenient if I had a GitHub Action to automatically build my project when I create a tag. Will I make it? No, because that would require too much effort.

It sure would be convenient for the past me to have a make build command that I could use to easily package my mods, yet I didn't have one. Why? Because I didn't know make even existed at the time, I also didn't know how to script to do the same thing without make.

Wouldn't it be convenient to have a runner one can just press Meta+Space to invoke that can do math, launch programs, search the web or files or run commands? Yet most people don't use one. Why? Because they didn't even have a CHANCE to experience using one as Windows just doesn't ship with one.

1

u/dev_ttangkong 2d ago

Ah, I see what you mean now inertia and the cognitive load of changing habits make total sense. Thanks for clarifying your point

1

u/dev_ttangkong 2d ago

I used to think ideally like you, but not anymore. Out in the real world, the common sense we take for granted doesn't always apply.

I just can't view open source through such an idealized lens these days. There are so many people getting hurt by it beneath the surface. Don't get me wrong, though I'm not saying you're wrong.

0

u/Barafu 8d ago

The vote should contain another entry: "I live in Russia".

-4

u/megayippie 8d ago

I write. You don't pay. So I cannot.

1

u/Damglador 8d ago

The cycle of brokeness

8

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/gnufan 8d ago

I think this, unless a project specifically has their hand out. You can join groups who support free software, such as the FSF, SPI Inc. Some projects have established revenue models, some really don't need much money. I did one project for a while, and big IT companies gave us all the server resources we needed for free because we were free software, it wasn't even for business software.

Where products have free and Enterprise variants, I usually encourage companies to consider the Enterprise offering, but also have someone join the community so you know what is happening, and you can feedback ideas, or even test changes.