Linux Foundation’s Nucleus Costs Drop to 2.3% in 2024

The Linux Foundation has recently published its annual report for the year 2024. According to the report, the organization’s total revenue for the year amounted to $292.2 million, a significant increase from $263.6 million the previous year. However, total expenses also saw a rise to $299.7 million from $269 million.

In terms of the costs associated with developing the Linux kernel, the organization spent $6.8 million, which is lower than the previous year by a million dollars and $1.4 million less than the year before that. The share of expenses related to the kernel development has decreased to 2.3% of the total expenses, compared to 2.9% in 2023, 3.2% in 2022, and 3.4% in 2021.

Other expenses outlined in the report include:

  • The costs of maintaining the infrastructure remained relatively stable at $22.69 million (7.6% of total expenses).
  • Expenses not directly linked to the kernel increased from $171.8 million to $193.7 million (64.6%).
  • Costs for training and certification programs rose from $18.57 million to $23.1 million (7.7%).
  • Corporate operations expenses increased from $17.1 million to $18.9 million (6.3%).
  • Costs for events and programs increased from $14.6 million to $15.2 million (5%).
  • Support for the community remained nearly unchanged at $13.7 million (4.5% of total expenses).
  • Expenses for international operations increased from $2.96 million to $5.6 million (1.8%).


When it comes to income sources, the report indicates that:

  • 43% ($125.1 million) of the total funds received were from donations and contributions from participants in the organization.
  • 25.1% ($73.6 million

/Reports, release notes, official announcements.