Earning $15k/month with an Open-Source project

What can we all learn from these solo-makers who have found a way to monetize their open-source projects?

Case 1: Fullpage.js ($15k/month)

Fullpage.js is a Javascript open-source component that helps developers create full-screen vertical and horizontal sliders, created by Alvaro Trigo.

Let’s get some facts about how well Fullpage.js is doing before we get into the monetization strategy —

1. Average revenue of $15,000/month.
2. Single founder/maker.
3. JS library used by companies like Google, eBay, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Nikon, EA, and British Airways, among others.
4. Started in 2013, began monetizing after 3 years from start.

How the project came into existence —

Here is a direct quote from the author of fullpage.js as to how it came into existence:

“Once I completed the website with the full-screen slider I thought it would be nice to develop my first jQuery plugin around that effect. This would ensure that other developers wouldn’t have to repeat the same work if they wanted to create something similar.

I uploaded it to my Github repository and open-sourced it. I sent the Github link and my website out into the world. About a week later I noticed the stars on the Github repository were increasing by hundreds and developers started opening issues. That was the beginning of it all.”

Monetizing strategy —

As fullpage.js grew in popularity, there were customers who started to ask for new features that were not available. This was a clear signal that fullpage.js had the potential to be monetized. The author obliged —

“After about a year of customizing code for customers, I decided to provide those features as paid extensions.”

Tips from the creator —

1. create a landing page so that people can know about the product.
2. Clear and user-friendly documentation that even non-developers can understand.
3. Try to genuinely help people out before thinking to monetize your open-source project.
4. As always, Github is your friend. Use it wisely.

If you want to read more about it, here is an interview with the creator.

Case 2: Dracula PRO ($5.1k/month)

According to the official website: Dracula PRO is a color scheme and UI theme tailored for programming. Made for terminal emulators, code editors, and syntax highlighters. Designed to be aesthetically pleasing while keeping you focused. It is developed by Zeno Rocha.

Let’s get some facts about how well Dracula Pro is doing before we get into the monetization strategy —

1. Average revenue of $5,100/month.
2. Single founder/maker.
3. The theme is used by devs at companies like Google, Shopify, Adobe, Amazon, Spotify, Paypal, and Facebook, among others.
4. Started in 2013, began monetizing around 2020.

How the project came into existence —

Here is a direct quote from the author of Dracula theme as to how it came into existence:

“In 2013, my laptop was stolen and I had to re-configure everything. At that time, there were thousands of themes out there, but none of them were appealing to me. So I decided to create my own.

Fast forward to 2020, Dracula is one of the most popular themes in the world. Still, I felt that something was missing. I wanted to help with more than just a theme, that’s why I created Dracula PRO.

This is a package built for developers who are willing to invest in their productivity.”

On October 27th, 2013 — the author created the first commit which was the ZSH theme. Then they created the theme for iTerm, Terminal.app, Sublime Text, and Textmate. At the end of the first day, they already had 5 themes. They tweeted about it and the community started to contribute. Today Dracula is available everywhere and it’s one of the most popular themes ever created.

Monetizing strategy —

It took quite some years, but Dracula was now popular among developers. Zeno decided to make a PRO version of his open-source theme with awesome features. It has a one-time purchase system for monetization with the following features—

• 14 Themes
• 6 Variants
• 4 Hand-picked Fonts
• 1 Productivity E-book
• 1 Bonus Screencast
• Design Files
• Wallpapers
• Constant updates
• Support included
• License for 3 computers

Tips from the creator —

1. Making a great landing page that looks great as well as is informative:
   “I think this goes back to knowing your audience. I’m a developer and developers can smell products with fluffy marketing buzzwords. I knew that if people were going to take me seriously, I had to be serious about the technical details of the product.” — Zeno
2. Using Open Source as a Distribution channel:
   “ Building a great product is definitely a vital part of a successful project. However, if you create a great product and nobody finds it, you have a big problem. I believe that open source can serve as a great distribution channel for any product. You can think of it as the free tier on your pricing table. Besides that, it generates a mental trigger of reciprocity. The more you give, the more they will want to help you.”
3. Pre-Launch:
   “People underestimate the power of a pre-launch campaign. I’d strongly suggest spending time in this area since it can not only help with sales but also be the start of a relationship with your audience.”
4. Outreach:
   “There’s a lot of power in direct sales. Even though this was not the strategy used on this product, I still believe this can be extremely effective, especially on the B2B space.”

If you want to read more about it, here is an interview with the creator.

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