G to the Square

In 2025, we expect software to be free. We have incredible developers building powerful tools and offering them at no cost. Some try to monetize with premium or “plus” versions, but more often than not, it’s hard to justify paying. This mindset didn’t appear overnight—it’s been developing over time.

Remember the time when you had to pay for an operating system¹, a programming language, or a code editor? Many of the tools we use to create software today are free. Think about that for a moment. Linux: free. VS Code: free. React: free. Go: free. Rails: free.

Now, you may argue that most of the examples listed are supported by companies with resources. But what about Tailwind CSS, Django, TanStack? Even JetBrains’ code editors are now free for non-commercial use.

After the era of free services supported by ads—and due to fierce competition in the realm of developer productivity—companies realized that the only way to acquire new paying customers was to go all-in on free software for individuals.² The hope? People get “used to” or even “addicted” to these tools, and then require them at their jobs.

Recently during dinner, my kids, ages 4 and 6, were a bit surprised to learn that some of the services they use, like water and internet, are paid.

I understand that their lack of awareness might sound strange, but if you think about it, services are hard for little kids to grasp. They understand that physical things, things that don’t come in “streams,” cost money. But things like the internet or Netflix just exist to them.

I think the same thing is happening with software.³ We’ve come to expect open source tools, AI Chat bots, email, and more to be free, or at least not something we pay for with money.

I wonder if the next step is for open source developers to not use the MIT license and make it only “free” for individuals, but business will need to pay for usage? How much business productivity should increase for them to be motivated to pay?

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Notes

Version	Name	Release Year	Paid?
10.5	Leopard	2007	Yes
10.6	Snow Leopard	2009	Yes
10.7	Lion	2011	Yes ($29.99 via Mac App Store)
10.8	Mountain Lion	2012	Yes ($19.99 via Mac App Store)
10.9	Mavericks	2013	Free

Version	Last Paid?	Free Upgrade?
Windows 7	✅ Yes	❌ No
Windows 8.1	✅ Yes	❌ (8.1 was free for 8 users)
Windows 10	✅ Yes (new installs)	✅ From 7/8.1
Windows 11	❌ (for upgraders)	✅ From 10

Footnotes

1. Windows has a more complicated upgrade than OS X, see tables generated via ChatGPT. ↩

2. Microsoft was the first well know to do this. They used to give free licenses to students and startups. It was basically cheaper than spending millions on marketing and sales. ↩

3. I understand we pay for apps, but how many times a year do you pay for a app compared to downloads? ↩