EXPLAIN: What Does “Free as in Beer” and “Free as in Speech” Mean?
September 27, 2005 by Jon
Filed under Explanation
The word ‘free’ in the English language has some ambiguity. Does it mean free as in ‘no cost’, or does it mean free as in ‘you can do what you want’? In order to alleviate any confusion when talking about Free software, the phrases “Free as in Beer’ and ‘Free as in Speech’ are frequently used to differentiate.
Free as in Speech: Means freedom as in the ability to do whatever you want. Free software is ‘free as in speech’ meaning that you can look at the source code, modify it, share the application with friends, and run the application for any purpose you so desire. It does NOT necessarily mean that the application costs nothing in terms of money.
Free as in Beer: Means that the application doesn’t cost anything in terms of money. Period. It does not mean that you have any rights to the source code, modification, or sharing the application. Just that you don’t have to spend any money on it.
Wikipedia link.
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Free software can mean either free as in beer, or free as in speech. Therefore, there must be a distinction between ‘Free Software’, ‘Free/Open Source SOftware’, and ‘Free Libre/Open Source Software’. The term’Free’ in the first two phrases is ambiguous and doesn’t explicity specify whether free as in beer or free as in speech software is being refrenced. [...]
[...] This is just one of several online financial management services that caught my eye. I’m always looking for a way to not buy another version of quicken and forever remove windows from my hard drive. The best part about this software is its free! Yep, free as in beer. [...]