Why these apps are free, and what "at cost" means

The apps in the OpenApps store are free because they cost almost nothing to run, and we pay that bill. "At cost" is the promise for the exceptions: if an app ever has a real cost each time you use it, it charges exactly that cost, never more, and says so on the page.

Here is what that means in practice, and why we think it can last.

Most simple apps cost almost nothing to run

A lot of the software people pay for every month is simple: a signature request, a form, a short link, a scheduling poll. The subscription does not pay for the work the app does. It pays for sales teams, growth targets and the next funding round.

Look at what each of our apps actually costs to serve:

• PDF, Images and Dictate run entirely in your browser. Your device does the work, so they cost us nothing.
• Invoice makes the PDF in your browser. A shared invoice link is one small record.
• A form response, a vote in a poll, an expense in a group: one tiny write to a database. That is Forms, When and Split, plus each booking in Book.
• A click on a short link, a view of a link-in-bio page: one tiny read. That is Links and Bio.
• Sign stores your documents, which costs a little more. It still stays free.

At these costs, we pay for the hosting and storage and charge nothing.

What "at cost" means

Some apps people want do have a real cost per use. Sending large files is the clearest example: storing and delivering big files costs money every time. A file transfer app, which is on our list of what to build next, is the kind of app that might need to charge.

If an app like that joins the store, it charges at cost:

• Exactly the cost, never more. No margin on top.
• Said on the page, so you know before you use it.

Today, no app in the store charges anything.

What free does not come with

• No ads. Not in the apps, and no ad page before your link opens.
• No tracking pixels and no data for sale. There is nothing to sell about you.
• No watermark on your PDFs or invoices.
• No paid tier. That matters more than it sounds. A company with a paid plan has a reason to make the free one worse, with caps like a few expenses a day or ten responses a month. With no paid tier, there is no reason to cripple the free one.

Why it can stay free: every app is an OpenApp

Free products have a habit of not staying free. A tool gets popular, changes hands, and the free plan shrinks.

Every app here runs on OpenApps. An OpenApp has three things:

1. Public source code. Anyone can read how it works.
2. An agent of its own that keeps improving it.
3. A path to being handed to the community that uses it.

We own these apps today. As each one grows, it can open, and from then on its users decide what happens to it. That is the promise behind "free": nobody, including us, can quietly turn it into a paid product later.

The same rule for everyone in the store

The store is open to other builders. Anyone who builds a free alternative to a paid app can list it, on the same terms. It is free or at cost, with no plan that caps the free version to push an upgrade. It needs no sign-up to start. It is an OpenApp. And AI assistants can use it.

Every app carries the same promise, so when one works well for you, you know what to expect from the next. You can read the short version on the about page.

Free, and honest about limits

Free does not mean the apps do everything. They are simple on purpose. Sign has no bulk sending or CRM integrations. Forms has no file uploads. Invoice does not collect card payments. Each app's page says what it does not do, and when a paid tool fits your job better, we say so. The goal is a free app that does the job well, not one that pretends to do every job.

If you want to see what that looks like for a specific app, start with the best free DocuSign alternatives, or see how assistants use the apps in give your AI assistant free apps.

Questions

Why are OpenApps apps free?

Most of them cost almost nothing to run. Apps like PDF, Images and Dictate run in your browser, and a form response or a click on a short link is one tiny database write or read. OpenApps pays for the hosting and storage and charges nothing.

What does "at cost" mean?

At cost means that if an OpenApps app ever has a real cost each time you use it, such as sending large files, it charges exactly that cost, never more, and says so on the page. Today, no app in the store charges anything.

Will OpenApps apps start charging later?

Not beyond cost. There is no paid tier to move people to, and every app is an OpenApp with public source code and a path to being handed to the community that uses it, so nobody, including OpenApps, can quietly turn a free app into a paid product.

Do OpenApps apps show ads or sell data?

No. There are no ads, no tracking pixels and no data for sale in any OpenApps app. There is nothing to upsell and nothing to sell about you.

Who pays for the hosting?

OpenApps pays for the hosting and storage of every app in the store. Most apps cost almost nothing to run, and some run entirely on your device, so the total stays small enough to give away.