Nostr grants: how to get funded to build on Nostr

How does the OpenSats Nostr Fund work?

The OpenSats Nostr Fund is the part of OpenSats, a US public charity, earmarked for Nostr. It started in 2023 with a contribution from Jack Dorsey's #startsmall and pays relay operators, client developers, library maintainers, designers and protocol contributors.

What it funds

The fund's focus areas, from its project page:

• Nostr clients on iOS, Android, web and desktop
• Relay implementations and relay operations
• Developer libraries and protocol-level work
• Design that makes Nostr usable for newcomers
• Apps that extend Nostr, such as private calls, app stores and AI access

Named grantees include Zapstore, Routstr and Jumble. The 17th wave of Nostr grants, in May 2026, funded 44Billion, NosCall, Routstr, Wisp and a renewal for Zapstore, which shows that funded projects can come back for more.

Who can apply

Developers, designers and other contributors anywhere in the world can apply, and pseudonymous applicants are welcome. All code and material must be free and open-source and developed in public. OpenSats cannot fund grants tied to countries or programs on the OFAC sanctions list.

How much it pays

OpenSats does not publish grant sizes. Grants are set in US dollars, paid in bitcoin, and amounts are private by default. The only public figures are the totals: over $10 million allocated from the Nostr Fund since 2023, with about 35% going to long-term support (LTS) grants for senior Nostr developers.

How long it takes

Applications are open in the first two months of each quarter and closed in March, June, September and December. OpenSats aims to decide within 90 days, so we list about 13 weeks to a decision. Approved grantees send a progress report every 90 days.

How do you apply for an OpenSats Nostr grant?

You use the same OpenSats form as for Bitcoin work, and the board routes your application to the Nostr Fund. The steps:

1. Write a one-page proposal. Use the OpenSats template and keep it to about one page. Make clear what you will build, why it matters for Nostr and what you will ship within the grant term.
2. Get two written references. Ask people who know your work, ideally Nostr developers or maintainers who have used or reviewed your code.
3. Record a two-minute video. It must run exactly two minutes.
4. Submit during a window. Apply at opensats.org/apply in the first two months of a quarter. The current window closes November 30, 2026; the deadline calendar tracks it.
5. Committee and board review. The Nostr technical committee reviews the application, and a majority of the OpenSats board decides.
6. Sign, get paid, report. Approved grantees sign a grant agreement, are paid in bitcoin, and report progress every 90 days.

If the work is mostly Bitcoin or Lightning infrastructure rather than Nostr itself, it may fit the OpenSats General Fund better. The form is the same either way.

Does the HRF Bitcoin Development Fund fund Nostr?

Yes. The Human Rights Foundation's Bitcoin Development Fund lists "Nostr, ecash and other freedom tech that complements Bitcoin" as a focus area, and HRF says Nostr is one of the software areas it is most interested in, alongside Bitcoin Core and ecash.

The difference is the mission. HRF funds work that makes Bitcoin and related tools more useful to activists and people living under authoritarian regimes, so a Nostr client with strong privacy, censorship resistance or translations for those users fits better than a general social app. HRF pays in bitcoin, takes applications at any time through a short form, announces grantees at the end of each quarter, and lets rejected applicants apply again. Grant sizes are decided case by case; its Q3 2026 round gave more than 500 million sats to 16 projects across all its focus areas.

What makes a strong Nostr grant application?

Both funders give money to individuals with a public record, so the strongest application points to work that already exists.

• Show the code. Link your repositories, releases and the relays or clients people already use. Open-source, developed in public, is a requirement at OpenSats, not a bonus. Our guide to open source licenses for grants covers which licenses count.
• Name the gap. Say what Nostr lacks without your work: a client for a platform, a missing library, relay software, or design that helps newcomers. OpenSats lists newcomer usability as its own focus area.
• Scope 3 to 12 months. OpenSats grants run 3 to 12 months. Say what you ship at the end, and what the 90-day reports will show.
• Pick references who can vouch for the code. A short letter from a maintainer who has merged your work carries more weight than a general endorsement.
• Ask for renewal with results. The Zapstore renewal in May 2026 shows renewals happen; your earlier reports are the evidence.

For a general structure, see how to write a Web3 grant proposal. The OpenSats one-page format is shorter than most, so cut rather than pad.

Where else can Nostr developers find funding?

Outside OpenSats and HRF, no program in the directory names Nostr, and neither do our records of the 123 programs we checked in October 2026 and left out. Nostr developers whose work overlaps with Bitcoin, such as Lightning payments inside a client, can also look at the wider set of Bitcoin developer grants, where several funders back individual open-source developers.

Email alerts tell you when the next OpenSats window opens and again three days before it closes.

FAQ

Does the OpenSats Nostr Fund pay in bitcoin?

The OpenSats Nostr Fund pays grants in bitcoin. Grants are set in US dollars and converted, so the amount you agree is a dollar figure, and you give a bitcoin address when you sign the grant agreement. Amounts are private by default. The HRF Bitcoin Development Fund, the other program that funds Nostr in web3grant's directory, also pays in bitcoin.

Can I apply for a Nostr grant under a pseudonym?

The OpenSats Nostr Fund welcomes pseudonymous applicants, and developers, designers and other contributors anywhere in the world can apply. OpenSats still needs two written references and cannot fund grants tied to countries or programs on the OFAC sanctions list, and approved grantees sign a grant agreement. Check the OpenSats FAQ for what identity details the agreement requires.

How long does an OpenSats Nostr grant last?

An OpenSats Nostr grant usually runs 3 to 12 months, full-time or part-time, with a progress report every 90 days. Senior Nostr developers can receive long-term support (LTS) grants, which took about 35% of Nostr Fund allocations according to OpenSats. Funded projects can apply again for a renewal, as Zapstore did in the May 2026 wave.

When does the next OpenSats Nostr window open?

The current OpenSats window for the Nostr Fund runs from October 1 to November 30, 2026. OpenSats opens applications in the first two months of every quarter and closes them in the third month, so the next window should open in early January 2027. Decisions take up to about 13 weeks, so an application sent in November 2026 may be decided in February 2027.