About
The Name
8by3 draws from two ideas. The first is the anarchist May Day demand for a fair working day — a life divided into equal thirds:
- 8 hours for work
- 8 hours for self
- 8 hours for rest
The second is the Buddhist Eightfold Path — eight practices grouped into three disciplines: wisdom, ethics, and concentration. Eight by three. These ideas shape how we work — building tools that respect people's time, designing with intention, and making choices we can stand behind.
What
We build people-centric software. Simple tools that give individuals and communities more control over their digital lives.
Our apps are designed to decentralize power away from big tech platforms and put it back in the hands of the people who use them. Local events, local commerce, local community — without a faceless platform in the middle harvesting your data. We charge fair, fixed rates — because we'd rather you pay us directly than have us track you, sell your data, and make you the product.
Why
Most software is over-engineered, copying practices from hyperscalers that serve none of us. The result is complexity, bloat, and systems that serve their creators more than their users. We believe in building simple — small systems that solve real problems without the overhead.
How
Everything we build runs on open source, hosted on our own solar-powered servers — not the big tech cloud. No vendor lock-in, no walled gardens. Built for people, not investors. Proudly running on FreeBSD and built with Elixir / Phoenix.
Who
Primarily we build and run our own products. But we also consult — helping teams design, build, and simplify their systems. If you're looking for hands-on engineering or architectural guidance, get in touch.
Where
8by3 is a South African company. Remote first, globally minded.