Everything Free Has a Price
This site itemizes it.
"Free" is the most effective word in marketing, and it works on everyone — including me. Free trials I forgot to cancel. "Free quotes" that turned into years of spam calls. Free apps that were quietly selling the story of my life.
This site exists to make one habit automatic: whenever you see the word free, ask — who's paying, and with what? Every business has to make money somehow. That's not sinister; it's arithmetic. The only question is whether the price is visible.
How this site works
- I describe patterns, not villains. I explain business models — lead generation, freemium, data monetization — so you can recognize them anywhere, rather than keeping a naughty list of brands.
- When I do name a name, the bar is high. Companies get named only for things that are documented and on the record: their own admissions, their own published policies, court judgments, or regulator actions. A settlement or fine isn't treated as a confession — sometimes paying is just cheaper than fighting — and I'll say so when that's the honest framing. If I can't source it, I don't print it.
- Every article ends with a receipt. What they advertised, what you actually paid, and a verdict.
- I give credit where it's due. When free is real, it gets a green badge. Skepticism without fairness is just cynicism.
- Every article includes a defense checklist. Education without action is trivia.
Is this site free?
Yes — and by our own definitions, actually free. No ads. No trackers. No analytics profile being built on you. No affiliate links. No email list. No "premium tier." I felt strongly that a site about the hidden price of free shouldn't have one.
It costs almost nothing to run a static site like this, and I pay that cost myself. If that ever changes, this page will say so plainly — because that's the whole point of the site.
← See the receipts