What AI assistants actually recommend when buyers ask about open-source project monetization tools — measured on a rolling 4-week window across 5 engines, published as open data.
Updated 2026-09-18 · 63 sampled answers · rolling 4-week window · methodology
Rankings are measured from sampled AI answers — never editorial, never paid. Orbator builds AI-visibility tooling; when Orbator itself appears in any category, it is measured by the same rules as everyone else.
Measured by Orbatormethodology owner Henrik Tellewindow ends Sep 18, 2026
Sample: 63 AI answers · Window: Aug 21, 2026 – Sep 18, 2026 (4-week rolling) · trend vs prior 4 weeks (49 answers)
Samples by engine: GEMINI 14 (last run Sep 7, 2026) · CHATGPT 14 (last run Sep 7, 2026) · CLAUDE 14 (last run Sep 8, 2026) · PERPLEXITY 14 (last run Sep 7, 2026 — stalest) · GROK 7 (last run Sep 7, 2026)
How these numbers are made: sampling design · prompt provenance · what counts as a mention · what we cannot see
On the record: This ranking is frozen as a dated snapshot every day. View this category's history to see what entered and left the ranking and when, or read what the engines actually said on a given day.
Across 63 sampled AI answers from 5 engines, Open Collective is recommended most often — appearing in 71.4% of recommendations, followed by Patreon (52.4%) and Ko-fi (44.4%).
This is a measurement of share of voice across 5 AI engines — not an editorial pick. See the full ranking below.
Orbator asked Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Grok buyer questions about open-source project monetization tools and sampled 63 answers between Aug 21, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026. Recommendation share counts the answers that recommended or listed a product, so a passing mention or a warning adds nothing to it. A category publishes once it holds at least 20 independently sampled answers in the window. Read the full methodology or download this ranking as CSV.
| # | Product | Share | Trend | Engines | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | opencollective.com Best for: AI recommends Open Collective most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (100% of those answers) | 71.4% 95% CI 59.3–81.1% 45 mentions · avg pos 4.6 first pick 13.3% | — | GROK 100%GEMINI 78.6%CHATGPT 71.4%CLAUDE 71.4%PERPLEXITY 50% | Claim |
| 2 | patreon.com Best for: AI recommends Patreon most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (100% of those answers) | 52.4% 95% CI 40.3–64.2% 33 mentions · avg pos 5.6 first pick 18.2% | — | GROK 57.1%GEMINI 78.6%CHATGPT 50%CLAUDE 50%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 3 | ko-fi.com Best for: AI recommends Ko-fi most when buyers ask “best tools for accepting sponsorships and donations for open-source software” (100% of those answers) | 44.4% 95% CI 32.8–56.7% 28 mentions · avg pos 4.9 first pick 3.6% | — | GROK 71.4%GEMINI 64.3%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 4 | liberapay.com Best for: AI recommends Liberapay most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (100% of those answers) | 39.7% 95% CI 28.5–52% 25 mentions · avg pos 4.7 first pick 28% | — | GROK 71.4%GEMINI 64.3%CHATGPT 21.4%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 5 | stripe.com Best for: AI recommends Stripe most when buyers ask “best tools for accepting sponsorships and donations for open-source software” (88.9% of those answers) | 27% 95% CI 17.6–39% 17 mentions · avg pos 6.6 first pick 5.9% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 42.9%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 6 | tidelift.com Best for: AI recommends Tidelift most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (88.9% of those answers) | 27% 95% CI 17.6–39% 17 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 35.7%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 7 | paypal.com Best for: AI recommends PayPal most when buyers ask “best tools for accepting sponsorships and donations for open-source software” (88.9% of those answers) | 25.4% 95% CI 16.3–37.3% 16 mentions · avg pos 6.3 first pick 12.5% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 50%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 8 | buymeacoffee.com Best for: AI recommends Buy Me a Coffee most when buyers ask “best tools for accepting sponsorships and donations for open-source software” (88.9% of those answers) | 25.4% 95% CI 16.3–37.3% 16 mentions · avg pos 7.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 35.7%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 21.4%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 9 | oscollective.org Best for: AI recommends Open Source Collective most when buyers ask “which open-source funding platform is best for individual maintainers vs organizations” (66.7% of those answers) | 23.8% 95% CI 15–35.6% 15 mentions · avg pos 4.7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 50%CLAUDE 21.4% | Claim |
| 10 | Linux Best for: AI recommends Linux most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (44.4% of those answers) | 14.3% 95% CI 7.7–25% 9 mentions · avg pos 8.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 57.1%GEMINI 21.4%CHATGPT 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 11 | linuxfoundation.org Best for: AI recommends Linux Foundation most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (44.4% of those answers) | 14.3% 95% CI 7.7–25% 9 mentions · avg pos 9 first pick 0% | — | GROK 57.1%GEMINI 21.4%CHATGPT 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 12 | gitcoin.co Best for: AI recommends Gitcoin most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (55.6% of those answers) | 14.3% 95% CI 7.7–25% 9 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 21.4%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 13 | thanks.dev Best for: AI recommends thanks.dev most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (44.4% of those answers) | 14.3% 95% CI 7.7–25% 9 mentions · avg pos 10.2 first pick 0% | — | GROK 71.4%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 14 | issuehunt.io Best for: AI recommends IssueHunt most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (66.7% of those answers) | 12.7% 95% CI 6.6–23.1% 8 mentions · avg pos 7.6 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 21.4%CHATGPT 7.1%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 15 | gitlab.com Best for: AI recommends GitLab most when buyers ask “best ways to monetize an open-source project” (55.6% of those answers) | 11.1% 95% CI 5.5–21.2% 7 mentions · avg pos 6.7 first pick 57.1% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 28.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 16 | polar.sh Best for: AI recommends Polar most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (44.4% of those answers) | 9.5% 95% CI 4.4–19.3% 6 mentions · avg pos 9.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 17 | donatr.ee Best for: AI recommends donatr.ee most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (55.6% of those answers) | 7.9% 95% CI 3.4–17.3% 5 mentions · avg pos 7.4 first pick 20% | — | GROK 57.1%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 18 | mongodb.com Best for: AI recommends MongoDB most when buyers ask “best ways to monetize an open-source project” (33.3% of those answers) | 7.9% 95% CI 3.4–17.3% 5 mentions · avg pos 8.4 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 7.1%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 19 | bountysource.com | 7.9% 95% CI 3.4–17.3% 5 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 21.4%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 20 | mozilla.org Best for: AI recommends Mozilla Foundation most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (33.3% of those answers) | 6.3% 95% CI 2.5–15.2% 4 mentions · avg pos 6.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 21.4% | Claim |
| 21 | mysql.com Best for: AI recommends MySQL most when buyers ask “best ways to monetize an open-source project” (33.3% of those answers) | 6.3% 95% CI 2.5–15.2% 4 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 22 | hashicorp.com | 6.3% 95% CI 2.5–15.2% 4 mentions · avg pos 12.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 42.9%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 23 | wordpress.com Best for: AI recommends WordPress most when buyers ask “best ways to monetize an open-source project” (33.3% of those answers) | 4.8% 95% CI 1.6–13.1% 3 mentions · avg pos 6.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 24 | confluent.io | 4.8% 95% CI 1.6–13.1% 3 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 25 | redis.io | 4.8% 95% CI 1.6–13.1% 3 mentions · avg pos 9.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 26 | pixelfed.social | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 3.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 27 | aws.amazon.com | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 4.5 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 28 | OpenSSL | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 29 | Selfstarter | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 30 | summerofcode.withgoogle.com | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 8.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 31 | plausible.io Best for: AI recommends Plausible most when buyers ask “donation-based funding models vs commercial open-source licensing for sustainability” (33.3% of those answers) | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 8.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6% | Claim |
| 32 | supabase.com | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 8.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6% | Claim |
| 33 | Goteo Best for: AI recommends Goteo most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (33.3% of those answers) | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 9.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 34 | stackaid.us | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 9.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 35 | discord.com | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6% | Claim |
| 36 | numfocus.org | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 37 | sfconservancy.org | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 38 | nextcloud.com | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 13.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 39 | Sovereign Tech Fund | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions · avg pos 15 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6% | Claim |
| 40 | redhat.com | 3.2% 95% CI 0.9–10.9% 2 mentions first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 41 | OpenTilt | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 42 | prototypefund.de | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 43 | giveth.io | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 44 | ycombinator.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 45 | canonical.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 46 | carbonads.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 47 | ethicalads.io | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 48 | snowdrift.coop | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 49 | ubuntu.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 50 | vercel.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 51 | crowdfunder.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 52 | sidekiq.org | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 53 | Sustain | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 54 | wired.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 55 | Foss Fund | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 56 | ghost.org | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 57 | Microsoft FOSS Fund | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 58 | algora.io | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 59 | gitpay.me | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 60 | Patron | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 61 | tailwindui.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 62 | elastic.co | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 13 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 63 | catarse.me | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 14 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 64 | indiegogo.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 14 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 65 | kickstarter.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 14 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 66 | indiehackers.com | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 16 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 67 | terraform.io | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions · avg pos 17 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 68 | huggingface.co | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 69 | neon.tech | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 70 | nextjs.org | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 71 | sustainoss.org | 1.6% 95% CI 0.3–8.5% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
Reading the numbers: Share is a point estimate on 63 sampled answers, so each row also shows its 95% CI — the Wilson score interval around that share. When two products' intervals overlap, the gap between them isn't statistically meaningful at this sample size. First pick is the share of a product's recommending answers where it was named first, which separates “always mentioned” from “usually the top recommendation”. Full methodology.
Independence: Orbator customers are badged for disclosure. Customer status does not affect prompts, sampling, extraction, or ranking — see the methodology. Your product on this list? Claim it to see the prompts behind your rank and track it weekly.
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Head-to-head pages for products ranked in Open-source project monetization tools. Each one sets out sourced facts side by side, plus which product AI assistants recommend more, engine by engine.
Every number on this page is measured from sampled answers, and those answers are kept. The archive holds dated excerpts of what each engine answered, never full answers. Read the answer archive for open-source project monetization tools to see the excerpts by date and engine, or view the ranking history to see what entered and left this ranking and when.
Across 63 sampled AI answers from 5 engines (Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026), Open Collective is recommended most often for open-source project monetization tools, appearing in 71.4% of recommendations, followed by Patreon (52.4%). This is a measurement of what AI assistants recommend, not an editorial verdict.
ChatGPT recommends Open Collective most often for open-source project monetization tools. It appears as a recommendation in 71.4% of ChatGPT's sampled answers in this window (Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026). Other engines answer differently. The per-engine breakdown in the ranking shows each one.
Orbator samples AI answers to buyer questions across 5 engines and counts how often each product is recommended. No product pays for placement. The open-source project monetization tools ranking is based on 63 answers in the current 4-week window (Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026). Full methodology is published at https://www.orbator.io/ai-index/methodology.
Verified facts for the most-recommended products — each sourced and dated. No editorial scoring, just the data side by side.
| PayPalpaypal.com | MongoDBmongodb.com | MySQLmysql.com | WordPresswordpress.com | AWSaws.amazon.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | — | M2: $9 a month (free tier available) ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | Personal: $9 a month (free tier available) ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — |
| Features | Pay in 4 interest-free payments ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Vector Search ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | scalability, uptime and agility ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Unlimited pages, posts, users, and visitors ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | pay-as-you-go approach for pricing ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 |
| Platforms | — | AWS ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | — | — |
| Integrations | Synchrony Bank ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Apache Kafka ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | PayPal ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — |
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