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Freeware contrasts with free software, because of the different meanings of the word "free". Freeware is gratis, as in "free beer", and refers to zero price, versus free software that is described as "libre", as in "free speech", which refers to the freedom to study, change, copy, redistribute, share and use the software in any purpose. However, many programs are both freeware and free software. They are available for zero price, provide the source code and are distributed with free software permissions. This software would exclusively be called free software to avoid confusion with freeware that usually does not come with the source code and is therefore proprietary software.
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