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---
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1. Selling Free Software {#selling-free-software .chapter}
========================
Many people believe that the spirit of the GNU Project is that you
should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that you
should charge as little as possible—just enough to cover the cost. This
is a misunderstanding.
Actually, we encourage people who redistribute free
software[(1)](#FOOT1) to charge as much as they wish or can. If a
license does not permit users to make copies and sell them, it is a
nonfree license. If this seems surprising to you, please read on.
The word “free” has two legitimate general meanings; it can refer either
to freedom or to price. When we speak of “free software”, we’re talking
about freedom, not price. (Think of “free speech”, not “free beer”.)
Specifically, it means that a user is free to run the program, change
the program, and redistribute the program with or without changes.
Free programs are sometimes distributed gratis, and sometimes for a
substantial price. Often the same program is available in both ways from
different places. The program is free regardless of the price, because
users have freedom in using it.
Nonfree programs[(2)](#FOOT2) are usually sold for a high price, but
sometimes a store will give you a copy at no charge. That doesn’t make
it free software, though. Price or no price, the program is nonfree
because its users are denied freedom.
@firstcopyingnotice{{@footnoterule @smallskip For some views on the
ideas of selling exceptions to free software licenses, such as the GNU
GPL, see @pageref{Exceptions}. @medskip @footnoterule @smallskip
Copyright © 1996–1998, 2001, 2007, 2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.\
{This essay was originally published on <http://gnu.org>, in 1996. This
version is part of @fsfsthreecite}
Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price doesn’t make
the software free, or even closer to free. So if you are redistributing
copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and
*make some money.* Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate
activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it.
Free software is a community project, and everyone who depends on it
ought to look for ways to contribute to building the community. For a
distributor, the way to do this is to give a part of the profit to free
software development projects or to the Free Software Foundation. This
way you can advance the world of free software.
**Distributing free software is an opportunity to raise funds for
development. Don’t waste it!**
In order to contribute funds, you need to have some extra. If you charge
too low a fee, you won’t have anything to spare to support development.
### Will a Higher Distribution Price Hurt Some Users? {#will-a-higher-distribution-price-hurt-some-users .subheading}
People sometimes worry that a high distribution fee will put free
software out of range for users who don’t have a lot of money. With
proprietary software, a high price does exactly that—but free software
is different.
The difference is that free software naturally tends to spread around,
and there are many ways to get it.
Software hoarders try their damnedest to stop you from running a
proprietary program without paying the standard price. If this price is
high, that does make it hard for some users to use the program.
With free software, users don’t *have* to pay the distribution fee in
order to use the software. They can copy the program from a friend who
has a copy, or with the help of a friend who has network access. Or
several users can join together, split the price of one CD-ROM, then
each in turn can install the software. A high CD-ROM price is not a
major obstacle when the software is free.
### Will a Higher Distribution Price Discourage Use of Free Software? {#will-a-higher-distribution-price-discourage-use-of-free-software .subheading}
Another common concern is for the popularity of free software. People
think that a high price for distribution would reduce the number of
users, or that a low price is likely to encourage users.
This is true for proprietary software—but free software is different.
With so many ways to get copies, the price of distribution service has
less effect on popularity.
In the long run, how many people use free software is determined mainly
by *how much free software can do,* and how easy it is to use. Many
users do not make freedom their priority; they may continue to use
proprietary software if free software can’t do all the jobs they want
done. Thus, if we want to increase the number of users in the long run,
we should above all *develop more free software.*
The most direct way to do this is by writing needed free
software[(3)](#FOOT3) or manuals[(4)](#FOOT4) yourself. But if you do
distribution rather than writing, the best way you can help is by
raising funds for others to write them.
### The Term “Selling Software” Can Be Confusing Too {#the-term-selling-software-can-be-confusing-too .subheading}
Strictly speaking, “selling” means trading goods for money. Selling a
copy of a free program is legitimate, and we encourage it.
However, when people think of “selling software,”[(5)](#FOOT5) they
usually imagine doing it the way most companies do it: making the
software proprietary rather than free.
So unless you’re going to draw distinctions carefully, the way this
article does, we suggest it is better to avoid using the term “selling
software” and choose some other wording instead. For example, you could
say “distributing free software for a fee”—that is unambiguous.
### High or Low Fees, and the GNU GPL {#high-or-low-fees-and-the-gnu-gpl .subheading}
Except for one special situation, the GNU General Public License (GNU
GPL) has no requirements about how much you can charge for distributing
a copy of free software. You can charge nothing, a penny, a dollar, or a
billion dollars. It’s up to you, and the marketplace, so don’t complain
to us if nobody wants to pay a billion dollars for a copy.
The one exception is in the case where binaries are distributed without
the corresponding complete source code. Those who do this are required
by the GNU GPL to provide source code on subsequent request. Without a
limit on the fee[(6)](#FOOT6) for the source code, they would be able
set a fee too large for anyone to pay—such as a billion dollars—and thus
pretend to release source code while in truth concealing it. So in this
case we have to limit the fee for source in order to ensure the user’s
freedom. In ordinary situations, however, there is no such justification
for limiting distribution fees, so we do not limit them.
Sometimes companies whose activities cross the line stated in the GNU
GPL plead for permission, saying that they “won’t charge money for the
GNU software” or such like. That won’t get them anywhere with us. Free
software is about freedom, and enforcing the GPL is defending freedom.
When we defend users’ freedom, we are not distracted by side issues such
as how much of a distribution fee is charged. Freedom is the issue, the
whole issue, and the only issue.
<div class="footnote">
------------------------------------------------------------------------
### Footnotes
### [(1)](#DOCF1)
@raggedright See @pageref{Definition} for the full definition of free
software. @end raggedright
### [(2)](#DOCF2)
@raggedright Also known as “proprietary software.” See @pageref{Category
Proprietary Software} for more on this category of software. @end
raggedright
### [(3)](#DOCF3)
@raggedright See the Savannah Task List, at
<http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/tasklist>. @end raggedright
### [(4)](#DOCF4)
@raggedright See <http://gnu.org/doc/doc.html>. @end raggedright
### [(5)](#DOCF5)
@raggedright See @pageref{Sell Software} for more on how the expression
“sell software” is ambiguous. @end raggedright
### [(6)](#DOCF6)
@raggedright See section 6 of the GNU GPL (@pageref{GPL S6}). @end
raggedright
</div>
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