Josh Goldberg’s open-source income: read beyond the annual total

Published on January 27, 2025, Goldberg’s report gives about US$60,191 of total 2024 income, including US$46,561 for open-source work, approximately 77%.^[1] These are his reported figures for one person and one year, not audited sector averages or current earnings. His 2023 review reported roughly US$38,000 of direct open-source income.^[2]

The 2024 text says open-source income grew about 24%; its printed US$38,000 baseline and US$46,561 endpoint imply about 22.5%. The baseline was rounded, so an exact growth rate cannot be recovered. It also describes a roughly 60% stipend cut, while a footnote gives about US$1,800 falling to US$1,100: roughly a 39% cut, leaving 61% of the prior amount.^[1] The descriptions should not be silently treated as identical.

The footnotes explain that delayed payments were reassigned across months. The monthly table therefore is not a literal bank-receipt calendar.^[1] Both reviews are the same author’s account, not independent corroboration. They do not demonstrate that publishing a report caused donations or that multiple revenue sources remove concentration risk.

Analysis & application

An annual total can hide a weak month or reliance on a few projects. A useful report should let a maintainer distinguish work earned, cash collected, recurring commitments and exceptional payments. The case supports examining those questions; it does not establish a generally sustainable salary model.

Analysis & application

1. Separate project, payment platform and income type so the same payment is not counted twice.
2. Record work period and actual receipt date in different fields; show adjustments.
3. Label recurring commitments, one-off payments, uncertain renewals and costs.
4. Test the effect of losing the largest funding source and of delayed receipts on available cash.
5. Compare future reported income with actual receipts and delivery costs before changing commitments. Publish only information you choose to disclose. This is our proposed worksheet, not Goldberg’s verified accounting system.