What AI assistants actually recommend when buyers ask about open-source project monetization tools — measured weekly across 5 engines, published as open data.
Updated 2026-08-04 · 84 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.
Sample: 84 AI answers · Window: Jul 7, 2026 – Aug 4, 2026 (4-week rolling) · trend vs prior 4 weeks (61 answers)
Across 84 sampled AI answers from 5 engines, Open Collective is recommended most often — appearing in 75% of recommendations, followed by Patreon (51.2%) and Liberapay (46.4%).
This is a measurement of share of voice across 5 AI engines — not an editorial pick. See the full ranking below.
| # | Product | Share | Trend | Engines | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Collective opencollective.com Best for: AI recommends Open Collective most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (100% of those answers) | 75% 95% CI 64.8–83% 63 mentions · avg pos 5.8 first pick 6.3% | — | GROK 85.7%GEMINI 89.3%CHATGPT 100%CLAUDE 64.3%PERPLEXITY 57.1% | Claim |
| 2 | Patreon patreon.com Best for: AI recommends Patreon most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (92.9% of those answers) | 51.2% 95% CI 40.7–61.6% 43 mentions · avg pos 6.7 first pick 9.3% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 71.4%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 21.4%PERPLEXITY 50% | Claim |
| 3 | Liberapay liberapay.com Best for: AI recommends Liberapay most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (100% of those answers) | 46.4% 95% CI 36.2–57% 39 mentions · avg pos 4.9 first pick 17.9% | — | GROK 71.4%GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 35.7%PERPLEXITY 39.3% | Claim |
| 4 | Ko-fi ko-fi.com Best for: AI recommends Ko-fi most when buyers ask “what should I use to fund my open-source project through community sponsorships” (85.7% of those answers) | 45.2% 95% CI 35–55.9% 38 mentions · avg pos 4.9 first pick 7.9% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 57.1%CLAUDE 35.7%PERPLEXITY 35.7% | Claim |
| 5 | Buy Me a Coffee buymeacoffee.com Best for: AI recommends Buy Me a Coffee most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (78.6% of those answers) | 39.3% 95% CI 29.5–50% 33 mentions · avg pos 6.7 first pick 6.1% | — | GROK 57.1%GEMINI 60.7%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 21.4%PERPLEXITY 21.4% | Claim |
| 6 | Tidelift tidelift.com Best for: AI recommends Tidelift most when buyers ask “which open-source funding platform is best for individual maintainers vs organizations” (78.6% of those answers) | 29.8% 95% CI 21–40.2% 25 mentions · avg pos 8.2 first pick 8% | — | GROK 71.4%GEMINI 35.7%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 17.9% | Claim |
| 7 | Linux Best for: AI recommends Linux most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (64.3% of those answers) | 29.8% 95% CI 21–40.2% 25 mentions · avg pos 10.1 first pick 4% | — | GROK 57.1%GEMINI 39.3%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 21.4%PERPLEXITY 21.4% | Claim |
| 8 | Linux Foundation linuxfoundation.org Best for: AI recommends Linux Foundation most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (64.3% of those answers) | 27.4% 95% CI 19–37.7% 23 mentions · avg pos 9.6 first pick 4.3% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 35.7%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 25% | Claim |
| 9 | IssueHunt issuehunt.io Best for: AI recommends IssueHunt most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (71.4% of those answers) | 19% 95% CI 12.1–28.7% 16 mentions · avg pos 11.6 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 32.1%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 10.7% | Claim |
| 10 | GitLab gitlab.com Best for: AI recommends GitLab most when buyers ask “how do I turn my open-source project into a sustainable business” (57.1% of those answers) | 15.5% 95% CI 9.3–24.7% 13 mentions · avg pos 7.2 first pick 46.2% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 21.4%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 11 | Gitcoin gitcoin.co Best for: AI recommends Gitcoin most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (50% of those answers) | 15.5% 95% CI 9.3–24.7% 13 mentions · avg pos 9.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 25%CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 12 | Bountysource bountysource.com Best for: AI recommends Bountysource most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (50% of those answers) | 13.1% 95% CI 7.5–21.9% 11 mentions · avg pos 10.1 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 21.4%CHATGPT 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 13 | PayPal paypal.com | 11.9% 95% CI 6.6–20.5% 10 mentions · avg pos 5.7 first pick 20% | — | GEMINI 17.9%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 10.7% | Claim |
| 14 | Sealos sealos.io Best for: AI recommends Sealos most when buyers ask “which open-source funding platform is best for individual maintainers vs organizations” (50% of those answers) | 11.9% 95% CI 6.6–20.5% 10 mentions · avg pos 9 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 15 | Mozilla Foundation mozilla.org Best for: AI recommends Mozilla Foundation most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (42.9% of those answers) | 11.9% 95% CI 6.6–20.5% 10 mentions · avg pos 10.1 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 21.4%PERPLEXITY 10.7% | Claim |
| 16 | thanks.dev thanks.dev | 10.7% 95% CI 5.7–19.1% 9 mentions · avg pos 11.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 57.1%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 21.4%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 17 | Dev.to dev.to Best for: AI recommends Dev.to most when buyers ask “donation-based funding models vs commercial open-source licensing for sustainability” (42.9% of those answers) | 10.7% 95% CI 5.7–19.1% 9 mentions first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 32.1% | Claim |
| 18 | WordPress wordpress.com | 9.5% 95% CI 4.9–17.7% 8 mentions · avg pos 19.4 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 17.9%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 19 | Open Source Collective | 8.3% 95% CI 4.1–16.2% 7 mentions · avg pos 6.4 first pick 0% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 7.1%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 20 | Indiegogo indiegogo.com | 8.3% 95% CI 4.1–16.2% 7 mentions · avg pos 14 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 21 | Kickstarter kickstarter.com Best for: AI recommends Kickstarter most when buyers ask “alternatives to the main open-source funding platforms” (42.9% of those answers) | 8.3% 95% CI 4.1–16.2% 7 mentions · avg pos 15 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 10.7%PERPLEXITY 10.7% | Claim |
| 22 | Stripe stripe.com | 7.1% 95% CI 3.3–14.7% 6 mentions · avg pos 7.2 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 10.7%CHATGPT 28.6%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 23 | donatr.ee donatr.ee Best for: AI recommends donatr.ee most when buyers ask “what should I use to fund my open-source project through community sponsorships” (35.7% of those answers) | 7.1% 95% CI 3.3–14.7% 6 mentions · avg pos 7.6 first pick 16.7% | — | GROK 57.1%CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 24 | Sustain Best for: AI recommends Sustain most when buyers ask “donation-based funding models vs commercial open-source licensing for sustainability” (42.9% of those answers) | 6% 95% CI 2.6–13.2% 5 mentions · avg pos 9.7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 25 | Elasticsearch elastic.co | 6% 95% CI 2.6–13.2% 5 mentions · avg pos 13 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 3.6%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 26 | HashiCorp hashicorp.com | 6% 95% CI 2.6–13.2% 5 mentions · avg pos 13 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 3.6%CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 27 | Confluent confluent.io Best for: AI recommends Confluent most when buyers ask “how do I turn my open-source project into a sustainable business” (35.7% of those answers) | 4.8% 95% CI 1.9–11.6% 4 mentions · avg pos 2.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 28 | MySQL mysql.com | 4.8% 95% CI 1.9–11.6% 4 mentions · avg pos 6.3 first pick 25% | — | GROK 42.9%GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 29 | Polar polar.sh | 4.8% 95% CI 1.9–11.6% 4 mentions · avg pos 8.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%CHATGPT 28.6% | Claim |
| 30 | Goteo | 4.8% 95% CI 1.9–11.6% 4 mentions · avg pos 17 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 31 | Pixelfed pixelfed.social | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 3.3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 10.7% | Claim |
| 32 | MongoDB mongodb.com | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 5.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 33 | Plausible plausible.io | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 34 | Snowdrift.coop snowdrift.coop | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 9 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 35 | Webpack webpack.js.org | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 9.7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 42.9% | Claim |
| 36 | Scaleway scaleway.com Best for: AI recommends Scaleway most when buyers ask “best ways to monetize an open-source project” (35.7% of those answers) | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 37 | Catarse catarse.me | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 15.7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 38 | Percona percona.com | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 18.3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 28.6%GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 39 | Automattic automattic.com | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 20.7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1%CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 40 | Selfstarter | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions · avg pos 22.3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 10.7% | Claim |
| 41 | F6S f6s.com | 3.6% 95% CI 1.2–10% 3 mentions first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 10.7% | Claim |
| 42 | SchoolMaker schoolmaker.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 7.1%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 43 | Supabase supabase.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 50% | — | GROK 28.6% | Claim |
| 44 | Flattr flattr.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 4.5 first pick 50% | — | PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 45 | n8n n8n.io | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 4.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 46 | Databricks databricks.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 5.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 47 | Ghost ghost.org | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 48 | Redis redis.io | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 9 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 49 | Google Summer of Code summerofcode.withgoogle.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 50 | Patron | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 10.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 51 | NLnet Foundation nlnet.nl | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 12.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6%CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 52 | Scarf scarf.sh | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 12.5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 53 | Discord discord.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 15 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 54 | Slack slack.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 15 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 55 | WordPress.org wordpress.org | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 16 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6%CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 56 | SonarLint sonarsource.com | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 21 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3%PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 57 | Open Source Endowment | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions · avg pos 29 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 7.1% | Claim |
| 58 | Milvus milvus.io | 2.4% 95% CI 0.7–8.3% 2 mentions first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 7.1% | Claim |
| 59 | OpenSSL | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 60 | Tailwind UI tailwindui.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 61 | Vercel vercel.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 62 | Terraform terraform.io | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 63 | Forbes forbes.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 64 | OpenSearch opensearch.org | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 65 | PitchBook pitchbook.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 66 | Valkey valkey.io | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 67 | Donorbox donorbox.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 68 | Font Awesome fontawesome.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 11 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 69 | 3scale redhat.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 70 | NumFOCUS numfocus.org | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 71 | Software Freedom Conservancy sfconservancy.org | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 72 | Horizon Europe | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 16 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 73 | Python python.org | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 16 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 74 | Qt qt.io | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 17 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 75 | Foss Fund | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 20 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 76 | React react.dev | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 22 first pick 0% | — | GROK 14.3% | Claim |
| 77 | AWS aws.amazon.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 32 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 78 | Crowdfunder crowdfunder.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 34 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 3.6% | Claim |
| 79 | Gumroad gumroad.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions · avg pos 44 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 80 | Givebutter givebutter.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
| 81 | MemberPress memberpress.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 7.1% | Claim |
| 82 | VictoriaMetrics victoriametrics.com | 1.2% 95% CI 0.2–6.4% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 3.6% | Claim |
Reading the numbers: Share is a point estimate on 84 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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