We’re getting traffic, but no signups — will open-sourcing with paid upgrades work?
We're seeing growing interest in our product — people visit, explore the homepage, even watch the demo. But most stop short of signing up or engaging with the core features.
We’re considering open-sourcing the core product and keeping advanced capabilities (like customization, automation, database support) as paid upgrades. The idea is to remove the “try before trust” barrier and build credibility through transparency.
We’ve seen some platforms go this route — and it seems to work. But we’re curious:
Has anyone here tried this model?
Does open-sourcing drive deeper trust and usage, or just more passive browsing?
How do you balance “giving enough” in the free tier while preserving value in the paid ones?
Are there any unexpected downsides we should watch for?
We’re not trying to monetize everyone — just want to make sure the value and motivation to upgrade are aligned.
Any lessons from others who’ve done this (or considered it) would be hugely appreciated.
Let us know if you’ve walked this path — or why you chose another.
Replies
Hey Atchayasri 👋
We actually tried something similar in one of our earlier projects, especially for developer-focused users.
Making it open-source really did help build trust people felt more confident exploring the product, and it created a feeling of transparency.
But here’s what we noticed along the way:
If the free version solves too much of the problem, not many people feel the need to upgrade especially if they’re a bit technical.
What worked best for us was offering time-saving features (like integrations or smart automations) as the paid part instead of just adding more features.
Also, once it's open-source, your GitHub might slowly become your support inbox something to be prepared for 😅
Would we do it again? Yes but only if it’s really clear which features are helpful and free vs. which ones save time and are worth paying for.
Also, if your audience isn’t super technical, open-sourcing may not drive upgrades on its own. In that case, a smooth onboarding experience or helpful demo might do more to boost signups.
Hope this helps!
@priyanka_gosai1 This is incredibly helpful — thank you for sharing your real-world experience!
You're absolutely right: our current free version shows just the bar chart and hides the rest, but we’ve been debating where to draw the line once we open-source. I love the idea of gating time-saving features rather than just “more” features.
Also, huge point about GitHub turning into support — hadn’t thought of that.
Our audience is mixed (some tech-savvy, some not), so we’ll definitely focus more on onboarding and a clearer demo path too.
minimalist phone: creating folders
Is the purchasing path clear enough for them? What if the process is not smooth?
@busmark_w_nika The subscription plans option is provided in the landing page itself. We use paypal and razorpay.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@atchayasri_rajkumar I rather meant the sequence of steps, clear CTAs etc
@busmark_w_nika That’s a great point, Nika — we do show pricing upfront, but I realize we haven’t optimized the full upgrade journey (like button copy, placement, and progression).
We’ll definitely test a clearer CTA flow — maybe a single “Get Full Report” or “Upgrade to Customize” button that leads directly to the payment options. Thanks so much for highlighting this!
Perhaps the landing page is currently not engaging enough for the users to sign up, user signs up when they are interested to try it out. I think the idea that your landing page conveys is quite important, and it should be conveyed as quickly as possible to grasp user attention before they loose interest.
@angelawang1605 Thanks Angela — you’re absolutely right. I think we’ve been too focused on showing functionality and not enough on grabbing attention fast.
We're now rethinking how we present the core value in the first 5 seconds — would love any suggestions on what you'd expect to see above the fold that makes you want to try it right away.
If your open source core is too feature-rich, users might never see the need to upgrade. On the flip side, if it’s too barebones, they might not stick around long enough to care. The sweet spot is giving away a genuinely useful, self-contained product that solves a meaningful problem, but leaves room for power users to crave those advanced paid capabilities.
Thanks for all the thoughtful responses! We’re working on improving clarity on the landing page and making upgrade CTAs more intuitive. Right now, guest users can see a bar chart from their own file — the rest of the report is blurred out unless you sign up.
We’re also considering open-sourcing the core product soon — the feature boundaries between free and paid are still evolving, so suggestions on what should remain open vs. premium would be super helpful.
If anyone wants to try the tool without login, here’s the direct link: https://autogen.intranalytix.com/upload
Would love feedback on what’s confusing, promising, or just... not working.