Freeware

Not to be confused with Free software or Free and open-source software.

Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines freeware unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the freeware it offers. For instance, modification, redistribution by third parties, and reverse engineering are permitted by some publishers but prohibited by others.[1][2][3] Unlike with free and open-source software, which are also often distributed free of charge, the source code for freeware is typically not made available.[1][3][4][5] Freeware may be intended to benefit its producer by, for example, encouraging sales of a more capable version, as in the freemium and shareware business models.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Freeware Definition". The Linux Information Project. 2006-10-22. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
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  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gnu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  6. ^ Lyons, Kelly; Messinger, Paul R.; Niu, Run H.; Stroulia, Eleni (2012). "A tale of two pricing systems for services". Information Systems and E-Business Management. 10 (1): 19–42. doi:10.1007/s10257-010-0151-3. ISSN 1617-9846. S2CID 34195355.