open core

noun

A business model for software whereby the core is open-source and free, while closed-source add-ons are available for purchase.

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Meanings

nounopen core (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA business model for software whereby the core is open-source and free, while closed-source add-ons are available for purchase.

    We deliver a fully functional product with our community edition. You can download it under a GPL v3 license. But, additionally, we provide enterprise features only if you pay for them. It's open core.

    2012, Simon Phipps, Open Source Strategies for the Enterprise, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN
    1 more example

    In part because the upsell features are often not clearly partitioned off from the core project, many open core products require their contributors to sign a contributor license agreement (CLA), which assigns rights to the commercial owner of the product.

    2018, Gordon Haff, How Open Source Ate Software […] , Apress, →ISBN, page 109
Cite this entry
APA

open core. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20core

MLA

“open core.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20core. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “open core,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20core.

Source: open core on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.