How we're thinking about pricing (WIP)

As this space continues to grow and we get closer to giving more people the greenlight to start their own DFOS spaces, we wanted to share our thinking on pricing for this tool.

How others price

Looking around in this space of social software, products tend to cluster around three models:

• Advertising (public social products like IG)
• Per seat member fees (professional social products like Slack)
• High monthly fees (social software like Circle or Mighty)

These tend to come at a very high cost, and with a brittle product experience too.

How we're thinking about DFOS pricing

DFOS is being designed as an affordable freemium model that charges far less than others for the cost of having a space, but makes it up by providing other services that spaces will pay for if they need, and won't if they don't.

This is still a work in progress, but there will be four revenue sources.

Monthly costs

To start, there will be a monthly fee to have a full-featured DFOS space. This can either be paid by the space creator or be transparently paid from the group's treasury.

• FREE tier: Groupchat + posts feed. Limited customization. Everything deletes every 30 days.
• COMMUNITY tier — 150 people or less. $25/month. Groupchat + posts + email + treasury + customization + data protection.
• WORLDBUILDING tier — 150+ people. $50/month. Groupchat + posts + email + treasury + customization + data protection.

In the future it's likely that a tier appears above this one (1k+ groups, maybe?) but for now this is how we're thinking about the monthly cost.

Paid keys

Soon we'll be introducing paid keys, or memberships, where a DFOS can charge one-time or monthly fees to be part of the space. In the event that paid keys are being offered, we will charge 10% of the amount collected as our fee. For spaces started by Friends of DFOS members (more on that below), this is an 8% fee.

When stores launch on DFOS, the fees will be the same: 10% for non-members, 8% for members.

App revenue

As you can see in this current alpha product, there will be an App Store inside of DFOS. If a developer launches an app and chooses to charge for it, we're planning to charge a 15% fee on the revenue made by that app. This will likely begin the second half of this year.

Friends of the Forest membership

We're planning to offer a patron/close supporter membership model for people who want to directly support the DFOS squad and our work, and wish to be in a shared space together. This will be an annual fee, and will come with access and greater participation in the overall DFOS meta-experience. Friends of the Forest members will also get discounts on fees, and other benefits we haven't thought of yet.

This feels like a project people might want to get closer to. We think this can be a mutually beneficial way to do that, and support this shared universe we're all yearning for.

Let's ballpark a $100 annual member cost, if someone chooses.

So how does this stack up?

Comparison chart

Annual platform cost — no membership fees, just keeping the lights on:

What if a group charges $5/month for membership?

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This is a work in progress

These numbers may shift somewhat, but this is the general shape of how we're thinking about things. For the true believers who start now, we'll also find ways to lock in your price — maybe if you do annual? — and reward the people who are really helping to make this happen.

What questions do you have? Drop them in the comments below :)