Ask HN: Is an open source SaaS model viable?

15 points

9 years ago

I recently created an open source project [1] (a tracking-free comment engine) that was well received. However, it requires setting up your own instance. Some users suggested that I should offer this as a SaaS and charge with a subscription model. The reason why the commercial closed-source solution (Disqus) exists is because it's easier - they charge money and offer this as a convenient service.

The entire project will always be open source. It's MIT license, so you can always fork your own copy. However I'm wondering if I should create a SaaS out of this that offers more advanced features (like comment moderation that works way better if offered as a SaaS)?

And if so, how should I figure out what should be the price? Does the open source SaaS model work? Any examples?

I've had a couple of people from venture firms reaching out to me about this. This is all very new to me, so I'd really appreciate some help here :)

[1] https://github.com/adtac/commento

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