Ways to Earn money from GitHub

There are 5 ways to earn money from GitHub using your open-source projects or by writing open-source code. Developers earn from $5 to $30,000 from a Github repository every month.

These are the proven strategies to earn money from GitHub:

  • Get funding for your GitHub repository
  • Solving open issues in a repository
  • Place Ads on your repository
  • Earn money by organizing a local event
  • Finding bugs in GitHub

Get funding for your GitHub repository

Requirement: Any repository (more stars are preferred)
Earning: $ 50 to $ 10,000 per month
Skills: No other skills than creating the repository
Time: Passive (no time)

Companies may want to provide you funding for your repository for two core reasons:

  • the company uses your repository and wants to support you
  • the company wants you to place their logo in your readme

If a company is using your repository, try to get in touch with developers in the company and ask them to encourage HRs to approve funding for your repository.

To find a company interested in placing their logo in your repository, place your email in the readme and potential companies will contact you directly. This is the most common way of funding your repositories.

Following is the approximate earning based on stars on a potential repository:

Stars Earnings (per month)
< 1000 $50
< 10,000 $1000
< 50,000 $2500
< 100,000 $5000
> 100,000 upto $10,000

Solving open issues in a repository

Requirement: Coding or documentation skills
Earning: $ 10 to $ 10,000 per issue
Skills: Coding skills depending on issue
Time: 1 hour to 10 days

You can find repositories that are paying to get issues resolved by going through GitCoin issues. It is a community of developers where issues are listed along with potential pay on completing it.

This can be slightly challenging as you need to get familiar with the project and make the contribution before other potential contributors. You need to work with the repository manager in perfecting your contribution.

Steps to create a pull request at GitHub

Placing Ads on your repository

Requirement: A repository with readme
Earning: $ 5 to $ 10,000 per month
Skills: None
Time: Passive (no time)

Ads can be placed on your repository using CodeSponsor (or CodeFund).

Note: This option is not available currently as GitHub had changed their terms of service agreement recently due to which external ads shall not be placed.

Earn money by organizing a local event

Requirement: GitHub campus experts (ambassador)
Earning: $ 1000 every six months
Skills: Event management
Time: 1 day

One needs to become a GitHub campus expert (ambassador) for their University or School. GitHub allocates specific amount (~ $1000) for each ambassador to motivate an event at your University or School.

The event can be a workshop or presentations on various open-source topics. This can be done once every six months.

Learn more: GitHub Campus experts

Finding bugs in GitHub

Requirement: Find valid bugs/ security loopholes
Earning: $ 100 to $ 30,000 per bug
Skills: Cyber security
Time: 1 day to 1 week

In this program, you need to find security bugs on platforms controlled by GitHub. On identifying an issue, you need to note the details and report it to GitHub. Depending on the validity, you will be awarded with a monetary reward based on the severity of the bug.

This program is managed by GitHub Security team.

Learn more: GitHub Security Bug Bounty