The software itself is free and open source.

If you choose to self-host, your only costs are your own infrastructure and internal administration. If you prefer managed hosting, we offer affordable monthly plans designed specifically for nonprofits and volunteer-driven organizations.

Open source software is software whose source code is publicly available for anyone to view, use, modify, and share. Instead of being owned and controlled by a single vendor, open source projects are developed transparently and can be improved by a community of contributors.

With open source software, you are not locked into a single provider. You can host it yourself, review how it works, customize it to fit your organization’s needs, and contribute improvements back to the project if you choose.

For organizations, this means greater transparency, long-term sustainability, and control over your data. For developers, it means the freedom to extend, integrate, and build on top of the platform.

OpenVolunteer is open source because we believe volunteer management tools for community-driven organizations should be accessible, transparent, and adaptable to the communities they serve.

OpenVolunteer is designed for nonprofits, conventions, community groups, and volunteer-driven organizations that need structure without unnecessary complexity. It works well for event-based teams with shifts, year-round nonprofits tracking hours and departments, and organizations that need clear role definitions and reporting.

Because it is open source, it can be adapted to fit small grassroots groups as well as larger multi-department organizations.

No. Organizations can choose between self-hosting or using our managed hosting option.

If you have in-house technical staff, you can deploy and manage OpenVolunteer yourself. If you do not have technical resources, we offer affordable managed hosting that includes setup, maintenance, updates, and basic support. This allows you to focus on your volunteers rather than infrastructure.

Managed hosting means we handle the technical side for you. We deploy OpenVolunteer in a secure environment, manage updates, monitor uptime, and maintain backups.

You still retain control of your organization’s data and configuration, but you do not need to worry about servers, patches, or ongoing maintenance. It is a practical option for organizations that want the benefits of open source without managing infrastructure internally.

Yes. OpenVolunteer is community-driven. Organizations and developers are encouraged to submit bug reports, feature suggestions, and pull requests. Contributions help ensure the platform continues to improve in ways that serve real-world volunteer teams.