# Open Source Business Tally Book

Cost comparison between using Open Source vs. Closed Source software for running a business and providing services to a client / and your staff.

# The Initial Tally Book

<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" height="314" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hoZFivBKOVc" width="560"></iframe>

As we continue in the Building a Business on Open Source, we should take time occasionally to look at the cost analysis of using Open Source software versus the Closed Source popular alternative(s). I believe this is valualbe for a few reasons.

1. We should be true to ourselves about whether there is any monetary cost savings in running / utilizing Open Source software.
2. We should make sure we understand that in order to support the software we use, we need to help thata software effort continue by paying for their services / support, etc.
3. We can track how much we may really save over time, or how much more it may cost us over time.j

Below, you'll find a table (apologies in advance for the formatting, but it's pulled from a spreadsheet) that compares initial, estimated, startup costs for a business aiming to provide basic IT / MSP support for small business / home users.

The hardware portions are assumed to be the same cost regardless of using Open or Closed source software solutions. The estimated costs on each side are as accurate as I could find at the time of writing / making the associated video, with today's date being November 20, 2022.

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" id="bkmrk-all-pricing-will-be-"><colgroup width="280"></colgroup> <colgroup width="171"></colgroup> <colgroup width="142"></colgroup> <colgroup width="304"></colgroup> <colgroup width="268"></colgroup> <colgroup span="2" width="134"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td align="left" colspan="6" height="49" rowspan="2" valign="top"><span style="font-size: medium;">All pricing will be added into the sheet as an annual cost basis except hardware which will be split out on a 5 year expected lifetime. The server I”m pricing against is 2 CPU with 12 Cores each</span></td><td align="left">  
</td></tr><tr><td align="left">  
</td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#351C75" height="26" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: large;">Open Source Option</span>**</td><td align="left" bgcolor="#351C75" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: large;">Pricing</span>**</td><td align="left" bgcolor="#351C75" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: large;">Annual Cost</span>**</td><td align="left" bgcolor="#351C75" colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: large;">Closed Source Options</span>**</td><td align="left" bgcolor="#351C75" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: large;">Pricing</span>**</td><td align="left" bgcolor="#351C75" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: large;">Annual Cost</span>**</td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">1 Server Machine On Prem</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1,600.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">320.00 USD</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">Same Hardware</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1,600.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">320.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">Domain Name</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.00 USD</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Same for Domain</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="39"><span style="font-size: medium;">VPS Rental for things like Email, VPN Server outside network</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">12.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">144.00 USD</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">Same VPS Rental</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">12.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">144.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">Proxmox VM Orchestrator</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1,790.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1,790.00 USD</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">VMWare</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Windows Server w/ Hyper V</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5,596.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5,596.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">US $ 875.00 / CPU Socket</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">5,596.00 USD</span></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">6,432.00 USD</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">Premium (most expensive)</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Up to 3 Physical servers w 2 CPUs each</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">1 phys server / 2 CPU / 12 Cores each</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;">  
</td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Includes vSphere and ESXi</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Max of 8 VMs</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;">  
</td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">Netmaker</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">NordVPN</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">iVPN</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">85.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">85.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">OPNSense / pfSense</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">399.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">399.00 USD</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cisco 1010 Series</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Price + 25% for support</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1,600.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">720.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mail-in-a-box</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">0.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">0.00 USD</span></td><td align="left">  
</td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">Proton Mail – US $ 7 / user / month</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6.00 USD</span></td><td align="left" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;">  
</td></tr><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" height="20"><span style="font-size: medium;">NextCloud Enterprise / per user per mo</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">36.00 USD</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">Google Workspace = US $6 / user/ month</span></td><td align="left" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><span style="font-size: medium;">  
</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">72.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="46"><span style="font-size: medium;">Zentyal Server Enterprise – 25 Users</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">190.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">190.00 USD</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">Azure Active Directory = US $6 / user / month</span></td><td align="left"><span style="font-size: medium;">@25 users (same as Zentyal plan)</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6.00 USD</span></td><td align="right" style="border-right: 1px solid #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">72.00 USD</span></td></tr><tr><td align="left" height="24" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: medium;">Cost Totals</span>**</td><td align="right" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: medium;">4,009.00 USD</span>**</td><td align="right" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: medium;">2,894.00 USD</span>**</td><td align="left" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">  
</td><td align="left" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">  
</td><td align="right" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: medium;">8,926.00 USD</span>**</td><td align="right" style="border-top: 1px solid #000000;">**<span style="font-size: medium;">7,024.00 USD</span>**</td></tr></tbody></table>

Pricing Calculator for Windows Server I used:

https://wintelguy.com/windows-server-licensing-calc.pl