New Linux Foundation Report Shows Active Open Source Contribution Delivers 2-5x ROI, While Passive Consumption Increases Costly Technical Debt

Research finds organizations that contribute to open source report financial and operational gains, while private forks and workarounds drain labor hours and budgets

Summary

• The Linux Foundation released a new report, ROI for Open Source Software Contribution: Insight from the Open Source ROI Survey and Economic Model
• The global survey of more than 500 IT leaders found that companies contributing to open source realize a significant return on investment (up to 5x) whereas passive consumers face substantial hidden costs up to $3.5 million
• Open source contribution has proven to be a strategic business imperative that enables organizations to lower long-term costs, accelerate development, improve security outcomes and influence project roadmaps

NAPA, Calif. – The Linux Foundation Member Summit – Feb. 24, 2026 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today released a new report, ROI for Open Source Software Contribution: Insight from the Open Source ROI Survey and Economic Model. Based on insights from more than 500 IT leaders, the report quantifies the economic value of open source engagement, revealing that active contribution delivers a 2-5x return on investment. Meanwhile, organizations that leverage open source without contributing back risk accruing technical debt, expending undue labor and foregoing significant value.

“In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the distinction between an organization that merely consumes open source and one that actively contributes marks the difference between stagnating and innovating,” says Chris Aniszczyk, chief technology officer of cloud and infrastructure at the Linux Foundation. “Contributing to open source is no longer just good citizenship, it is a high-yield strategy that leverages the collective innovation of the global open source community.”

Open Source Contribution Delivers Measurable Value

For years, organizations have been uncertain about the strategic benefit of not only consuming open source, but contributing back. Now, it is clear that strategic contribution drives innovation, reduces cost and provides a competitive advantage.

The report found:

• Organizations see 2-5x return on investment across all forms of engagement including code contribution (3.6x), community contribution (3.2x) and financial contribution (2.4x)
• Two-thirds of respondents report increased return on investment after contributing to open source and expect returns to improve over time
• Between 2018 and 2025, the top 100 open source contributors yielded $23.2 billion in benefits from a $3.9 billion investment – a 6x increase
• Organizations that become members in foundations realize a 4.8 return on their investment

“This research empirically validates what the open source community has understood for years: that contribution creates real, measurable value for organizations,” said Hilary Carter, Senior Vice President of Research at the Linux Foundation. “Across hundreds of organizations, we see that upstream engagement accelerates development, strengthens security outcomes, and transforms shared infrastructure into lasting economic impact and resilience.”

The Hidden Maintenance Tax of Passive Consumption

Contributing to open source lowers costs and drives value, and not contributing actually incurs costs. When misalignment between open source project roadmaps and organizations’ unique needs arise, organizations often turn to private forks. However, this short term solution creates long-term, compounding technical debt, which only increases with scale. The report found:

• Organizations would spend $3.5 million on purchasing proprietary technology or writing their own code if open source software did not exist
• 49% of respondents develop internal workarounds for features or fixes not on open source roadmaps, costing an average of $670,000 annually
• Maintaining private forks costs organizations an average of 5,160 labor hours, or $258,000, per release cycle

“Investing in open source and cloud native technologies consistently returns far more than it costs – accelerating delivery, reducing technical debt and operating expense, and strengthening security and governance,” said Jan-Erik Aase, Partner and Global Head of ISG Provider Lens at ISG. “When organizations contribute upstream and participate in open source software projects and foundation membership, their influence grows, risks fall and value compounds. These engagements turn Kubernetes, containers and API-first platforms into engines of innovation and efficiency, improving talent attraction and resilience while converting infrastructure into a durable, compounding source of competitive advantage today.”

Benefits Beyond the Bottom Line

Open source contribution benefits extend past financial returns. Open source involvement is a powerful tool for human capital development, innovation, security and overall technology influence. The report found:

• 68% of respondents say that contributing to open source makes it easier to hire and retain top talent
• Product development speeds increase by 10% on average due to open source contributions
• 66% of organizations report that upstream maintainers respond faster to contributors’ security issues and bug reports
• 84% of contributors report successfully influencing project roadmaps more than half the time

Contribution is no longer a discretionary activity or a matter of goodwill. It is a practical strategy for reducing long-term costs, increasing reliability, and gaining a stronger voice in shaping the technologies that underpin modern infrastructure. Organizations that engage with open source see higher returns, greater efficiency, and better alignment with business needs, which propels them to success in the ever-changing technology landscape.

Explore the full ROI for Open Source Software Contribution report findings at https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/contribution-roi.

We thank our sponsors, CD Foundation, CNCF, FINOS, Intel, LF Decentralized Trust, LF Networking, Mercedes-Benz, OpenInfra, OpenSSF, TODO Group, and Toyota, and survey distribution partner ISG, for making this report possible.

Supporting Quotes

"Open source is no longer merely a software development methodology; it has become vital infrastructure that underpins society and industry. This report offers insightful findings that quantitatively demonstrate that organizational contributions to open source are not ancillary activities, but strategic initiatives with measurable returns on investment. We hope these insights will encourage greater contributions and help organizations enhance their agility, technical capabilities, and long-term competitiveness."

– Hirofumi Inoue, President of Advanced R&D and Engineering Company, Toyota Motor Corporation

About Linux Foundation Research

Founded in 2021, Linux Foundation Research explores the growing scale of open source collaboration, providing insight into emerging technology trends, best practices, and the global impact of open source projects. By leveraging project databases and networks and committing to best practices in quantitative and qualitative methodologies, Linux Foundation Research is creating the go-to library for open source insights for the benefit of organizations worldwide.

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Media Contact
Kristi Piechnik
The Linux Foundation
kpiechnik@linuxfoundation.org