Freeware

What is Freeware?

Freeware, or free software, is software that can be downloaded and used for free, without paying a fee or for a subscription. Generally, the term refers to closed-source software that is made available for free by its creator, e.g. IrfanView. In this case, "free software" means "free as in free beer."

The term "free software" can also mean "free as in freedom," and that's also called libre software, or libreware. In this case, we're talking about software that is made open source, also called free and open source software (FOSS). This kind of software is often not called "freeware" but "open source" instead, and the fact it's open source implies that it's free to use. There are some exceptions. Notably, Aseprite is open source but not freeware (or libreware). A libre fork exists that is called Libresprite.

Freeware contrasts with shareware, which is paid software that can be tried for free for a limited amount of time or functionality, e.g. you can use it, but you can't save files, or you can save files but not open them later.

Another term is freemium, which means the software has a functional free version and a paid, premium version. The term freeware can be used to refer to such software. For example, DaVinci Resolve can be considered freeware, as its free version, albeit limited compared to the paid version, is fully functional.

It's interesting to note that the term freeware is more common on Windows than Linux, and it's mainly used to talk about end-user applications (including video-games), such as image viewers, editors, utilities, and so on. In the Linux world, it's assumed that the software will be libre by default, so the term doesn't make much sense.