Open source bounties: get paid to contribute
Bounties attach cash rewards to GitHub issues. You still contribute through the normal PR process — payment comes from a platform or maintainer after acceptance. Treat bounty amounts as provisional until you verify the rules.
How bounties usually work
An issue is posted with a reward and conditions (who can claim, deadlines, quality bar). You solve it via a merged PR, then submit a claim on the bounty platform or follow maintainer instructions. Payouts may require KYC or specific wallets depending on the platform.
Finding paid GitHub issues
IssueFinder’s Bounties page lists unassigned issues that mention cash amounts ($, €, £, or ₹) and were updated in the last 45 days. Always open the GitHub issue and linked bounty page to confirm the reward is still active before investing time.
- Verify the amount and currency on the source of truth
- Check whether the issue is still unassigned
- Read claim steps before you write code
- Prefer bounties on repos you can actually set up locally
Skills and risk
Bounty issues are often harder than good first issues. Start with unpaid beginner tickets to learn the workflow, then take bounties sized to your experience. If two people submit PRs, platforms and maintainers decide — there is no guarantee you get paid for unfinished work.