What is freemium, freeware, and free trial?

Today, let’s understand two important terms that you will see when you try to use a computer-based service.

Freemium

Freemium = Free + Premium.

This means that some features of the service are available for free. Some features require the user to pay.

Many websites and services use this revenue model.

For example, Gmail gives us about 15GB of free space, but if our content goes beyond this, we have to buy Google drive space. Likewise, we can see videos for free on Youtube, but then we have to see ads. If we want to avoid seeing ads, we have to pay a subscription fee.

Linkedin is another platform that allows users to create a profile for free. But if they want to post jobs, reach out to potential clients, they have to buy a version of premium that meets their needs.

Spotify allows you to create a free account but if you want to avoid the ads, subscription needs to be paid.

Twitter has a “verified user” offer where the user has to pay about 8 USD per month. In return, they can:

A. Get a blue verified account tick.

B. Share their content and monetise it.

C. Get some features that free users can’t.

D. Make their videos downloadable.

Freeware

Freeware is exactly what it says – it is free to use.

Audacity is a freeware software that is used for recording and editing audio.

Libreoffice and Open Office are both freeware software packages that do the same things that Microsoft Office does, but has a different user interface.

Thunderbird is freeware that does what Microsoft Outlook does.

Free Trial

In this case, the user can use the application and features for a while. If they want to use it beyond that limited time, they have to pay. This is a free trial – you can try for free, but after that, you have to pay.

Many applications allow a free trial for a limited period.