WebhookDB is Open Source

In January, we finished making WebhookDB Open Source at https://github.com/webhookdb/webhookdb.

We initially pursued a closed-source licensing model because of the difficulty of monetizing Open Source. We were aiming for a 'simpler time', when you bought some software, and it was yours. Our hosted offering, WebhookDB Cloud, required a subscription, but our licensees bought WebhookDB outright for their own hosting.

It turns out that tools like WebhookDB really need to be Open Source. The model provides a level of extensibility, understandability, support, protection from future business changes, and more, that developers have come to expect, for good reason.

Some of our integrations, like for Google Cloud, Plaid, and Online Travel Agencies, are licensed through WebhookDB Enterprise, since they're almost only used by businesses where WebhookDB provides core business value.

This approach of revenue from enterprise licenses and support, combined with the modest ambition of bootstrapping a business, means we're able to be profitable, especially as being Open Source has made WebhookDB more appealing to new users.

We're proud of what we've built. You can run WebhookDB yourself in a service using:

• The WebhookDB Docker image: webhookdb/webhookdb
• As a Ruby gem: webhookdb
• You can run the repo directly through Heroku and similar services.

Check out a video of WebhookDB in action, take WebhookDB for a spin, or get in touch.