I don't use Linux for free anymore, and you shouldn't either—here's why

Published Nov 1, 2026, 9:30 AM EST Sydney Butler is a technology writer with over 20 years of experience as a freelance PC technician and system builder and over a decade as a professional writer. He's worked for more than a decade in user education. On How-To Geek, he writes commerce content, guides, opinions, and specializes in editing hardware and cutting edge technology articles. Sydney started working as a freelance computer technician around the age of 13, before which he was in charge of running the computer center for his school. (He also ran LAN gaming tournaments when the teachers weren't looking!) His interests include VR, PC, Mac, gaming, 3D printing, consumer electronics, the web, and privacy. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Research Psychology with a minor in media and technology studies. His masters dissertation examined the potential for social media to spread misinformation. Outside of How-To Geek, he hosts the Online Tech Tips YouTube Channel, and writes for Online Tech Tips, Switching to Mac, and Helpdesk Geek. Sydney also writes for Expert Reviews UK. He also has bylines at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Tom's Hardware, MakeTechEasier, and Laptop Mag. The first time I gave money to a Linux project felt weird. I'd been playing with one distro or another for a while, never quite figuring it out. Then Ubuntu Linux launched just as I started college, and because we all had bad internet, they sent me an installation disc for free. I used Ubuntu on and off, but I switched to it completely during my postgrad years, running on a little netbook that I took to every class. Then, one day as I ordered yet another free disc from the website, I thought to myself, "I'm a grownup now, maybe I should actually push that donate button" and since then, I've opened my wallet now and then to throw a few bones at possibly the most important software project in history. Paying for Linux is easier than most people think You're probably aware that big businesses pay for Linux. Not the software itself, but they fund development by supporting projects, and they pay for support, otherwise Linux would be too much of a business risk compared to Windows, for example. That's the model for something like Red Hat Linux, which mainly sells services since the software itself is free and open-source. Yet, regular folks like you and I have plenty of options to lend support. The simplest way is to just look for a "donate" button and send a few bucks to your favorite distro. Here's a receipt for a donation I made to Arch Linux, for example. The amount's been blanked out because it's embarrassingly small. And that's part of my point. I mean I write blog posts for a living. I'm not exactly swimming in disposable income over here, and you don't have to either. The whole ethos of open source communities is that everyone can chip in as little or as much as they want. If all I can afford is to give $100 a year divided among two or three projects (such as Wikipedia, which I also try to support), well, that's fine. Over and above direct donations, you can also get something for your money. Ubuntu Pro, for example, is free to individuals for up to five machines, but you can also choose to pay for that support, and you have to if you want to cover more than five PCs. Directly funding your favorite distro keeps it alive Credit: Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek No matter how much time and talent contributors to projects like Debian or specific distros like Arch Linux give, there will always be financial costs that can't be covered any other way than cold hard cash. Hosting and distribution isn't cheap, there are legal issues that have to be taken care of, the list goes on. Of course, there are large businesses that have become patrons of Linux projects for their own benefit, which trickles down to all of us. But, we can't just rely on these large companies to support and steer those projects. In particular, if a given distro is niche, but does something that you approve of, you can support them financially in lieu of donating your time or talent. Supporting individual developers strengthens the apps you rely on The support you give doesn't even have to be at the distro level, it can be towards specific aspects of the overall Linux project. If there's a specific desktop environment you love, then you can support just that. If there's an important tool you use on Linux every day, focus your support there. The beauty of open source is that people vote with their support organically and there's no single central funnel where we all have to be happy with what we get, regardless of what we want. You can even just support solo devs through platforms like Patreon, when they're single-handedly keeping something updated while attention goes to something newer and shinier. Credit: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek | Zorin The most popular desktop OS in the world is still Microsoft Windows, but recently it came to light that millions of people are defecting to a distro of Linux called Zorin OS. This is a project designed specifically to offer the most Windows-like experience, so it makes sense that people would flock to it if they either can't or won't stick with Windows. People are leaving Windows for various reasons, but part of the problem includes issues like telemetry collection, intrusive AI features no one asked for, advertising, and an insistence on forcing us to sign up for online accounts. An OS like Zorin doesn't have to do this, but it still needs to make money to support the software and its users. So there's Zorin OS Pro, which gives you access to perks like optional cosmetics. I have to stress again that giving money to Linux projects is always optional, and only something you should do because you want to support that project, and you can afford to. However, if you use the fruits of the Linux tree, then it's only fair to give a little back when you can. Since I just canceled a bunch of Microsoft subscriptions, I suddenly find I have a few more dollars to spread around.