It's FOSS
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
It's FOSS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- It's FOSS
- Legal name
- It's FOSS
- Website
- https://itsfoss.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
It's FOSS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Linux & Open Source Media and Education
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories (EDAFACAJ), Open Multimedia OER (video, audio, podcasts, animations) (EDAGAJAF)
Keywords
It's FOSS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Plus Membership Subscriptions: Annual and lifetime membership subscriptions offering ad-free reading, free eBooks, member badges, and supporting creation of educational Linux materials.
- Display Advertising: Free content supported by display advertisements displayed to non-member readers.
- Affiliate Commissions: Affiliate partnerships with Digital Ocean (hosting), Humble Bundle (eBooks), and other tech products. Part of payments from Humble Bundle O'Reilly collection goes to It's FOSS.
- Donations: One-time donations via Ko-fi platform for supporting independent Linux content.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Plus Yearly - Annual subscription membership |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Plus Lifetime - One-time payment for lifetime membership |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
It's FOSS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
It's FOSS is an independent online publication that produces Linux and open source software news, tutorials, guides, and educational resources for desktop users ranging from beginners to advanced enthusiasts. The core offering is delivered through long-form SEO-optimized articles on itsfoss.com, the weekly FOSS Weekly newsletter, a YouTube video channel, downloadable cheat sheets and eBooks, and a community forum for Linux discussion.
Product overview
It's FOSS is a Linux-focused online publication that delivers news, tutorials, and resources for Linux users through multiple channels. The core offering consists of the FOSS Weekly Newsletter and Local AI Weekly Newsletter, complemented by a Plus Membership subscription that provides ad-free reading and free eBooks. The platform offers educational resources including courses, distro-specific guides, and tutorials covering topics like command line basics, window managers, and development tools. A community forum enables discussion among Linux enthusiasts.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- FOSS Weekly Newsletter A weekly email newsletter providing Linux tips, application discoveries, distro exploration, and the latest open source news, targeted at individual Linux users wanting to become better Linux users.
- Plus Membership
- Resources (Courses, Guides, Distro Resources)
- Community Forum
- Markdown Guide (eBook)
- Local AI Weekly Newsletter
Companies that use It's FOSS
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
It's FOSS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
It's FOSS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Digital OceanminorDigital Ocean provides cloud hosting for It's FOSS website infrastructure. Affiliate partnership with Digital Ocean offering $200 in free credits for new users (referral link on website).
- GhostcoreGhost is the publishing platform used by It's FOSS for content management, memberships, and newsletter functionality. 'Published with Ghost' mentioned in footer.
- Humble Bundle / O'ReillyminorAffiliate partnership promoting Humble Bundle O'Reilly Linux eBook collections. Part of purchase payments go to It's FOSS when using affiliate links.
- Ko-fiminorPlatform used for donation support (Buy us a coffee), Plus membership payments, and general supporter donations.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
It's FOSS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OMG! Ubuntu!: Ubuntu/Linux-focused news, tutorials, and how-to site serving the same desktop-Linux user audience as It's FOSS. Direct competitor for SEO traffic on distro guides and beginner content.
- It's FOSS News (Linux Hint): Linux tutorials, news, and how-to site serving beginner-to-advanced Linux users. Directly competes with It's FOSS for tutorial search traffic and overlapping audiences.
- TecMint: Linux how-to, tutorial, and news publication targeting sysadmins and developers. Overlaps directly with It's FOSS on tutorial-driven Linux content and SEO-led growth.
- LWN.net: Subscription-supported Linux and free-software news outlet. Overlaps with It's FOSS in audience and Linux/open-source editorial focus, with a similar subscription-first model.
- Linux Handbook: Linux server/sysadmin tutorials site linked from the It's FOSS footer ('Linux Server Stuff'), widely understood to share the same founder. Directly comparable in tone, audience, and monetization.
- Phoronix: Long-running Linux/open-source hardware and software news, reviews, and benchmarks site. Comparable to It's FOSS in audience (Linux enthusiasts), content mix (news + tutorials), and bootstrapped media operating model.
- LinuxConfig: Linux tutorials and configuration guides focused on troubleshooting and command-line usage. Competes with It's FOSS for the same search-driven Linux tutorial traffic.
- Fossbytes: Open-source and tech news site covering Linux, FOSS, and software. Comparable to It's FOSS in news-driven coverage of open source and monetization via ads and affiliate.
Broad incumbents
- Ghacks: Long-running independent tech-news and tutorial site. Comparable in bootstrapped, ad- and community-supported model, with overlapping open-source/Windows/Linux coverage.
- MakeUseOf: Large consumer tech tutorial and how-to publisher covering software, productivity, and open-source topics. Overlaps with It's FOSS on tutorial-style content but addresses a much broader, non-Linux-specific audience.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
It's FOSS social profiles
Digital presenceIt's FOSS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
It's FOSS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
It's FOSS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
It's FOSS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about It's FOSS
What does It's FOSS do?
It's FOSS is an independent online publication that produces Linux and open source software news, tutorials, guides, and educational resources for desktop users ranging from beginners to advanced enthusiasts. The core offering is delivered through long-form SEO-optimized articles on itsfoss.com, the weekly FOSS Weekly newsletter, a YouTube video channel, downloadable cheat sheets and eBooks, and a community forum for Linux discussion.
Is It's FOSS a public or private company?
It's FOSS is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was It's FOSS founded?
It's FOSS was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does It's FOSS make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Plus Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are display Advertising, affiliate Commissions and donations.
Who are It's FOSS's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OMG! Ubuntu!, It's FOSS News (Linux Hint), TecMint, LWN.net, Linux Handbook, Phoronix, LinuxConfig and Fossbytes. Broad incumbents are Ghacks and MakeUseOf.
Does It's FOSS have an API?
No public API is recorded for It's FOSS.
What industry is It's FOSS in?
It's FOSS's product category is Linux & Open Source Media and Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJABAG, Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing, with a secondary code of EDAFACAJ, Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.