(
FREE pre
MIUM) A very popular marketing approach for software and services that provides a limited free version and a more expansive paid version. For example, an online storage provider may offer five gigabytes of disk space at no cost but then charge for greater capacities.
The free software version may include basic functions, while the paid version provides enhanced capabilities. A game might be free, but special avatars, scenery, speed boosters and the like are extra-cost items. Quite often, the free version contains ads, or in the case of music streaming, audio-based commercials as in AM and FM radio. See
ad-supported software,
shareware and
lite version.