Why We Made Aelira Open Source (And Why That Matters for Universities)

Updated March 22, 2026

When we started building Aelira, we faced a critical decision: closed-source SaaS or open source?

Most accessibility tools choose the first path. Blackboard Ally costs $10K–$160K/year for enterprise licenses (pricing varies widely by institution size). YuJa Panorama charges $10K-$50K/year. Both are closed-source, proprietary, and expensive.

We chose a different path: 100% open core under MIT + AGPL licenses.

Here's why—and why it matters for your university.

The Problem with Closed-Source Accessibility Tools

Universities face a unique challenge: accessibility is a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have.

The April 26, 2027 WCAG 2.1 deadline means every university must comply or face:

Loss of federal funding
ADA lawsuits from students
OCR investigations
Department chair accountability meetings

But existing closed-source tools create vendor lock-in:

Expensive: $10K-$160K/year per institution
No transparency: You can't see what the software actually does
No customization: You're stuck with their features (or lack thereof)
Data privacy concerns: Your student data goes to their servers
No exit strategy: Switching vendors means starting over

Why We Chose MIT + AGPL (Open Core)

Our CLI tools and libraries use the permissive MIT license for maximum flexibility. The backend API and web dashboard use AGPL to ensure the platform stays open. This means universities can:

✅ Use Aelira Commercially (100% Free)

Download, install, and use Aelira for free—forever. No usage limits, no time restrictions, no hidden fees.

Cost: $0 for the software itself

What this means: A small liberal arts college with limited budget can use the same platform as Harvard.

✅ Modify the Code However You Want

Need to integrate with your proprietary LMS? Want to add custom reports? Need to support a rare LaTeX package?

You can modify the code yourself.

With closed-source tools, you're stuck filing feature requests and waiting months (or years). With Aelira, your IT team can make changes immediately.

✅ Keep CLI Modifications Private

The CLI tools are MIT licensed, so you can keep modifications private. The backend API is AGPL—if you modify and host it publicly, you share those changes.

Why this matters: Most universities use Aelira internally (no public hosting), so AGPL obligations rarely apply. And CLI customizations stay completely private.

✅ Deploy On Your Own Servers

Self-hosted deployment means:

Student data never leaves your servers (FERPA compliance)
No reliance on our uptime (you control availability)
No vendor lock-in (you own your deployment)
No subscription fees (just optional support)

Privacy-first universities (especially international) can use Aelira without sending data to US cloud providers.

✅ Audit the Code

Closed-source tools are black boxes. You can't verify:

What data they collect
How their AI works
Whether they have security vulnerabilities
If they comply with WCAG standards themselves

With Aelira, you can read every line of code on GitHub. Security teams can audit. Accessibility experts can verify. Faculty can trust.

Our Business Model: Support, Not Software

"If it's free, how do you make money?"

Great question. Here's our model:

Free Tier: Self-Hosted (MIT + AGPL)

Cost: $0
What you get: Complete platform (PDF, PowerPoint, LaTeX, Image, Video, Website, Code scanners)
What you provide: Your own infrastructure (servers, storage, backups)
Support: Community (GitHub issues, Discord)

Best for: Universities with IT resources who want maximum control and privacy.

Paid Tier: Support & Hosting

We make money by selling support and hosting, not software licenses:

Self-Hosted Department ($299/mo):

Installation assistance (1-day setup)
Email support (72hr response)
Priority bug fixes
Quarterly check-ins

Cloud Department ($999/mo):

We host everything (99.5% uptime SLA)
Automatic backups & SSL
24-48hr email support
No IT required

Institution Plans ($2,999-$7,999/mo):

Unlimited departments
Dedicated support engineer
Monthly check-ins (not quarterly)
Institution-wide SSO & analytics

Why This Model Works

Our incentives align with yours:

Closed-source SaaS: Makes money by locking you in (hard to switch, annual contracts, price increases)
Open source support: Makes money by helping you succeed (happy customers renew support, refer others)

If Aelira doesn't work for you, you can:

Fork the code and maintain it yourself (open source allows this)
Hire another company to support it
Switch to a different tool without losing your data

We succeed when you succeed. That's the open source promise.

Real Example: Mid-Size University

Institution: Mid-size state university, 10,000 students, 5 departments

Challenge: April 2027 deadline, limited budget ($50K/year for accessibility)

Option 1: Closed-Source (Blackboard Ally)

Cost: $10K–$160K/year depending on institution size (over budget for many)
Features: Scanning + basic PDF fixes (title, language, OCR) + AI alt text; no structural remediation
LaTeX support: None
Exit strategy: Locked in (proprietary format)

Option 2: Manual Work

Cost: $500K+ (way over budget)
Time: 2+ years (too slow)
Faculty time: Hundreds of hours unpaid

Option 3: Aelira (Self-Hosted + Support)

Software cost: $0 (open source)
Support cost: $299/mo × 5 departments = $1,495/mo = $17,940/year
Features: All 8 tools (PDF, PPT, LaTeX, Image, Video, Website, Code, Compliance)
LaTeX support: YES (only platform with this)
Exit strategy: You own your deployment, can switch support providers anytime

Result: Up to 89% cost savings vs Ally enterprise pricing, 97% vs manual work.

What You Can Do with Aelira (Open Core)

Here are real use cases universities have told us about:

1. Integration with Proprietary Systems

Scenario: University has a custom-built course management system (not Canvas/Blackboard)

With closed-source tools: Can't integrate (APIs are limited or non-existent)

With Aelira (open source): Modify the code to integrate directly with your system

2. Custom Compliance Reports

Scenario: University needs reports in a specific format for accreditation bodies

With closed-source tools: File a feature request, wait 6-12 months (maybe)

With Aelira (open source): Add custom report templates yourself (or hire us to do it for $200-350/hr)

3. Multi-University Collaboration

Scenario: 5 universities in a consortium want to share infrastructure costs

With closed-source tools: Each needs a separate license (up to $160K × 5 = $800K/year)

With Aelira (open source): Deploy once, all 5 universities use it (split hosting costs only)

4. Research & Development

Scenario: Computer science department wants to research AI accessibility

With closed-source tools: Can't access the AI models or training data

With Aelira (open source): Full access to Ollama models, training pipeline, and source code

The Transparency Advantage

Open source isn't just about cost savings. It's about transparency.

WCAG Compliance You Can Verify

Aelira claims to generate WCAG 2.1 AA compliant fixes. With closed-source tools, you have to trust them.

With Aelira, you can verify:

Read the WCAG checking code on GitHub
Run your own compliance tests
Modify the rules to match your interpretation of WCAG
Contribute improvements back to the community

AI Models You Can Audit

Aelira uses Ollama (open source AI) for:

Alt text generation
LaTeX natural language descriptions
Code fix generation

You can:

See exactly which models we use (Llama 3.2, Qwen 2.5 Coder)
Swap in different models if you prefer
Run models on your own hardware (no data to OpenAI/Google)
Audit the prompts we use for AI generation

Privacy-first universities love this: student data never leaves your servers.

Community Contributions

Open source means the community can contribute:

Bug fixes (don't wait for us)
New features (LaTeX packages, LMS integrations)
Translations (internationalization)
Documentation improvements

Real example: A university in Germany contributed support for German language alt text descriptions. Now all universities benefit.

The Counter-Argument: "What If You Go Out of Business?"

Fair question. If Aelira (the company) shuts down:

Closed-source tools: You're screwed. Software stops working, support disappears, data exports might not exist.

Aelira (open source):

Software keeps working (you own your deployment)
Code stays on GitHub (open source licenses can't be revoked)
Community can fork and maintain it
You can hire another company to support your deployment

Open source is insurance against vendor failure.

How to Get Started

Option 1: Self-Host for Free

Clone from GitHub: git clone https://github.com/aelira/aelira-core.git
Run Docker Compose: docker-compose up -d
Access at http://localhost:3000

Support: Community (GitHub issues, Discord)

Option 2: Paid Support Plans