I did it! My open-source company now makes $14.2k monthly as a single developer
In September 2024, I started Postiz (star it if you can 🙏🏻):
https://github.com/gitroomhq/postiz-app
A social media scheduling tool built in open-source.
It's funny that a market that has existed for 20 years doesn't have a good open-source solution.
I had a few principles in mind as a non-funded company that doesn't need money (or maximize revenue at all costs)
- Everything (but I mean everything) must be open-sourced.
- Charge only for cloud costs, never force developers to pay.
Today, Postiz earns $14,000 per month from subscriptions, and I aim to reach $20,000 in two months.
Here are the step-by-step instructions I took to get to where I am today.
1. List it everywhere
Open source has special powers, there are tons of GitHub repositories and websites where you can list your solution (Awesome OSS alternatives, Awesome Self-hosted, etc.) And also websites like Open Alternative
This is very powerful because people actually check those websites, and they also bring a powerful backlink. I will talk about it in the next part.
2. Launch it everywhere
If you are active on DEV or Reddit /r/selfhosted you would see my posts. I didn't make "big versions" for Postiz. Every minor feature was a version. That allowed me to talk about Postiz more and mention it repeatedly.
This is another great thing about open source: so many Reddit channels and DEV websites are for devs. And Postiz is not a dev tool, but I built it as open source, which makes it dev-related.
3. Listen to the DEV community
My first post on Reddit, people asked to have a Docker (because it's a complicated mono-repo), and that's the first thing I did. I am proud to say that today, Postiz has reached 4.79M Docker downloads.
4. Market as much as coding or more
There are so many good software pieces that nobody knows about because word of mouth takes time. When you first launch your product, it will be buggy, unfriendly, and hard to use.
This is why you constantly need to work on it and market it. I have seen so many good products fail or not reach their goals because of their marketing.
I don't have a strong social presence on traditional platforms, so I posted the product mostly on Reddit / DEV / LinkedIn and a little bit on X.
But I knew that social media is a "push" marketing, which means that somebody sees something they didn't look for; the algorithm exposes it to them.
The best way to find you is by researching what you need. This is why SEO and AISEO (ChatGPT) are more important, because people who buy from research stay with you for a longer time.
5. Find new audiences
In July 2025, I was making $6,523 monthly, and in August 2024, I was already making $12,648 monthly, almost doubling the revenue in one month.
I started seeing a lot of people using social media automation tools like n8n and tons of YouTube videos.
It makes sense because n8n users are developers willing to pay, and they would choose an open-source solution. So I changed my focus. I published an official n8n node, improved the public API, and focused heavily on automation.
I started to cold outreach Skool communities and have them promote Postiz.
My affiliate marketing started to explode, and tons of people began publishing Postiz organically.
The coolest part is that people who automate Postiz with n8n templates and use automated software don't need to manually add posts, which increases the number of months they pay for Postiz.
6. Focus on SEO
Once you start to get more and more backlinks to your website, your authority increases, and more people find you on search engines.
Also, more people send you cold emails to exchange links with them (you need to pick a good one), but you grow even more.
This is super important because with SEO (like ads), there is an endless scale. It works for you even when you don't work.
Burnout
Two months ago, my wife and I brought a beautiful baby daughter. After one full year of working 200%, I experienced massive burnout (until today). I don't yet know how to get out of it, and I am glad the community can help each other.
But I am happy with everything that I have achieved, and everybody can do the same if they spend a little time.
The most important thing is not to stop. Growth takes time. It took me a very long time to make a decent amount of revenue from the product.
Good luck to all of you out there!
How do I find these first 5-10 members?
I Got Shadow-Banned on Reddit So Many Times That I Built RedChecker
I love how you combined open source spirit with a smart, lean business model.
It’s rare to see someone grow from community roots to real revenue like this.
Totally agree about SEO and GEO, that long-term, compounding visibility matters more than any social push.
Congrats on both the product and the baby, hope you find some rest soon, you’ve earned it.
Thank you so much!
awesome work and congrats on the little one
Really inspiring breakdown of the journey behind Postiz. The openness about strategy, mistakes, community feedback and burnout makes this one of the most honest ‘build in public’ stories I’ve seen. It’s impressive how much traction you achieved by leaning into open-source principles, constant iteration, and smart channel selection. The SEO and automation angle was especially insightful. Thanks for sharing such a transparent roadmap for others trying to grow something from scratch!
Glad see someone made it, hope you get out as well from burnout phase, i made myself open source app and what i understood is that i need to look into more in seo. Thank you.
Incredible achievement! Inspiring to see a single developer generate $14.2k monthly independently.
Thanks so much Nevo for sharing your story about Postiz... growth does take time and persistance... and it's inspiring to see your early success. congrats and wishing you the best of luck!
“Congrats! Turning an open-source project into $14.2k monthly as a solo developer is inspiring success.”
I appreciate the links to those resources (like Awesome Self-Hosted, etc.).
They’re incredibly helpful for getting started.
I’m curious whether you’ve ever thought about taking the same journey from scratch for a completely free project — one without open-source value for developers or any monetization strategy.
My challenge is to demonstrate a new approach to UX, with one example being an S–D tier indicator for walking and cycling
Congrats — that’s an impressive milestone, especially as a solo dev. What stands out is how deliberately you approached distribution and community engagement, not just coding. Listing, launching often, and listening to dev feedback clearly paid off. The n8n angle and SEO push were smart moves too. Thanks for breaking down the process so openly; it’s motivating to see an open-source project grow sustainably like this.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Huge respect, Nevo. The n8n pivot is genius. Congrats on $14k MRR! 🙌
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I have always believed that sincere people who genuinely want to help will inevitably be met with success — and you are living proof of that.
I also know the feeling of burnout. In my case, it grew into a two-year depression and a complete loss of understanding of what I truly wanted. You know, what helped me was journaling and a healthy lifestyle. No cigarettes, no alcohol. And every day, I reflected. You won’t believe it, but after about six months, something shifted. I started wanting to give something back to the world again — something it deeply needs.
I’m rooting for you and wishing you success!
Really solid breakdown. What stands out most is how consistent you were with small launches, community feedback, and showing up in the places where developers actually look for tools. The way you treated open source as a distribution channel rather than just a development choice is something many founders overlook. The growth curve makes sense when you see how each step stacked on the previous one. Congrats on the progress and thanks for sharing a clear roadmap others can learn from.
helpful
You have no idea how helpful this is. We're going through this same experience as we speak. We're at step 1 and 2 right now - and even that is challenging.
Amazing achievement!
The burnout section really resonated. Building something open-source means you're never really "off" - there's always another issue, another feature request, another community question. Congrats on pushing through to $14k MRR though, that's a solid milestone. The pivot from ads to premium tiers sounds like it was the right call.
“Amazing achievement! Shows how dedication, skill, and open-source innovation can generate impressive independent income.”
Very Inspiring! Thanks for sharing.
Huge congrats on the arrival of your little baby and your success.
Thank you for sharing this, this is huge inspiration for me, For past 2 months i was working full time on https://vidbuilder.ai and https://shortrentals.ai and your post gave me ideas on how to improve may marketing (cold outreach to Skool communities and n8n node) for both products and also open source opportunities.
“Incredible achievement! Proof that dedication, skill, and open-source innovation can generate impressive independent revenue.”
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Doubling revenue from July to August just by shifting focus to the right audience (automation users) is a wild stat. It really highlights the importance of product-market fit over just adding more features. I’ll be following your journey to $20k!
Congratulations @nevos! Just wondering how long have you been at this? I always wondered how OpenSource companies made real money. If there was a way to fast track the process, I would be first in line to buy the book/course!
This open-source success story is inspiring — building a company solo and earning $14.2K/month shows real dedication, skill, and hustle. For anyone interested in smart tools and data-driven approaches, AltPaths offers advanced crypto screening and analytics that help traders make more informed decisions.
Nevo, huge respect Postiz is growing fast and your open-source approach is rare to see.
If you ever want to boost visibility further, I can help get Postiz featured on Digital Trends, USA Today, or even run a 400+ outlet PR (Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, etc.).
Given your momentum, a few placements could bring in a completely new audience.
If you want, I can share what would have the biggest impact for you.
My open-source company now earns $14.2k per month as a solo developer by building tools people truly need, focusing on user feedback, delivering fast updates, and keeping everything transparent. Open-source trust plus consistent value turned a one-person project into a profitable business.
Huge congrats, Nevo — this is one of those stories that quietly proves what disciplined, consistent execution can do.
What stands out most is how you treated marketing like part of the product: listing everywhere, shipping small updates, joining the conversations, and actually listening to the people using it. A lot of indie projects stall because founders only code; you clearly did both sides with intent.
Also appreciate the honesty about burnout. Success looks great from the outside, but the pace behind it can be brutal, especially with a new baby. Hope you get time to slow down and reset — Postiz is already proof that the long game pays off.
Impressive achievement—growing an open-source company to $14.2k monthly solo shows dedication, smart strategy, and resilience.
I haven't even seen anything likes this, will try the OSS product.
Great inspiring article!
Thank you so much 🙏🏻
Huge congrats, and honestly thank you for mentioning the burnout!
I’m building my own product with a baby at home too, and even with a fraction of your success, the context-switching alone is brutal. Seeing someone build something meaningful and stay honest about the toll is grounding.
Now that you're past the first big growth wave, what’s the one thing you’d do differently to protect your energy?
Def work less haha, and go out more
Going out is def a non-negotiable!
Incredible achievement! Earning $14.2k monthly solo from an open-source company showcases skill, dedication, and entrepreneurship.
🙏🏻
This is very impressive. I'm technically new to development. About a year now. I was curious what's the real drawer to open source project. I see people make it seem out of the world sometimes and a bit perplexed. Can you help me out?
Building with the community, transparency.
Amazing achievement! Earning $14.2k monthly solo from an open-source company is truly impressive and inspiring.
🙏🏻
This is super inspiring how you leveraged open-source and community feedback to grow Postiz to $14K/month especially the n8n integration, which makes automation seamless for developers. what was the biggest growth lever early on: listings, Reddit posts, or the Docker support?
Cold outreach to n8n groups on Skool :)
Cool.
This is really great progress and it looks amazing! I was trying Postiz a while ago and didn’t work for me but I for sure give it another spin, thanks for all the work and please take a break to recover from the burnout.
🙏🏻
Awesome story, congrats! 🚀
I’m actually in the very early stage of my own indie SaaS — just launched 2 days ago — and already seeing surprising traction thanks to Reddit.
I built a small tool that surfaces fast-rising marketplace search trends, and even with no followers / no audience, my first two posts got 1.5k+ views each and started bringing real users.
Your breakdown about “launch everywhere, talk often, and listen to the community” hit hard. Exactly the path I’m trying to follow.
Thanks for sharing the roadmap — super inspiring for those of us just getting started. 🙌
🙏🏻❤️
Congratulations
Thank you so much!
🚀 This is such an inspiring read, Nevo. Scaling to $14k/mo as a solo dev is incredible, but your note on burnout really hits home. Balancing rapid growth with personal well-being is the hardest part of the game. I actually cover the 'mental game' of solopreneurship often in my newsletter because it’s just as important as the MRR. Hope you get some well-deserved rest with the new baby, and congrats on the success!
Yay! Thanks!
This is a really smart flip on the usual model. Most platforms make sellers do all the heavy lifting, but buyers are the ones who actually know what they want. Letting them define the criteria—price, area, multifamily, commercial vs. residential, land vs. building—creates way fewer dead-end conversations.
What I like most is that it removes the “blast and hope” approach a lot of investors rely on. Instead of spamming deals everywhere, sellers can just match directly with buyers who already said, “Yes, I’m looking for exactly this.” Clean and efficient.
Curious to see how big this could get once more buyers start posting their criteria. This solves a real pain point.
Congrats!
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If anyone needs help improving their brand colours or layout, i can share some tips. I create brand kits for small businesses.
Congrats! Burnout is a real change, especially when working solo. Have you already tried getting some kind of accountability buddy, or joining a mastermind, or other avenues where you can actively socialize ideally in person or at least on video chat with people that can relate and talk to you about your goals?
Well not yet, but I will look into it
That's great 👍
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Congratulations!
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“Congratulations! Generating $14.2k monthly as a solo developer is inspiring. Your dedication, skill, and persistence in building an open-source company show what’s possible with focus and creativity.”
Thanks for the AI reply
Great Work with Postiz! Truly inspirational.
I'm also recovering from burnout and all I can say is, you'll eventually find your way; it only needs time.
🙏🏻❤️
“Congratulations! Achieving $14.2k monthly as a solo developer is incredible—truly inspiring for anyone pursuing open-source projects independently.”
Thank you for the AI comment!
List everywhere: Open-source projects get a natural boost from platforms like GitHub repos, Awesome OSS alternatives, and self-hosted directories. It’s free exposure and strong backlinks.
Launch often, iterate fast: Posting minor updates keeps your project visible, builds momentum, and engages communities continuously.
🙏🏻
Congratulations!
Thank you so much!
“Congratulations! That’s an incredible achievement as a solo developer. Your dedication, skill, and persistence are truly inspiring—proof that passion and hard work in open-source can lead to amazing results.”
Thank you for the AI comment...
Great read. I appreciate the OSS angle. Something to think about for my product. This is an inherently social product though. I'm not sure it will apply everywhere. Thanks for the writeup though.
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