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Free means no charge for the vast majority of people who can understand English.

• reikonomusha 7y ago
  “Free” also carries meaning outside of the commercial context and specifically in the context of software to English-speaking software developers. If I heard someone talking about software—especially developer software—being free, I personally would assume they mean “libre”, not “gratis”. But I can understand if that’s not universal.
  • ClassyJacket 7y ago
    "I personally would assume they mean “libre”, not “gratis”." I don't even know what either of those mean and I've been coding and on HN for years. I'm not even sure how to pronounce the first one. In Australia at least, 'free' means it doesn't cost money.
    • commoner 7y ago
      Free has two standard meanings that are used commonly, "free of charge" (gratis) and "free from restriction" (libre): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre Gratis: "Buy one, get one free." Libre: "You are free to leave."