Ask HN: Paid app but also want to open source?

7 pointsLiuser9y ago3 comments

I've just written my first small paid application and would also like to release the source code publicly on github as a few people have expressed interest.

There's some pros and cons I can see with it:

Cons:

- Potential revenue loss, people wont pay if they can get it for free.

Pros:

- Giving back to community.

- Potential free advertising when technical users use the free code and non-technical users catch wind and pay for not having to be bothered with code.

Anyone do both and can share experiences?

3 comments

3 comments · 2 top-level

jrpt9y ago· 1 in thread

Is it business software or consumer software?

Check out https://supportedsource.org/

You can have your code public on GitHub, while still releasing it under a paid license.

LiuserOP9y ago

Thanks for the info -- it's consumer software.

TurboHaskal9y ago

I would keep the code proprietary and donate 20% of the application's revenue to the open source projects that made it possible. As soon as profit stops, open source it.

You'll be "giving back" way more this way.

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