Protips: The little things you learn to pro up your French

‘Libre’ and ‘gratuit’ both mean ‘free’ in French, but are used in different senses of the word.

Libre (from the verb libérer ‘to free’) usually refers to people and means free in the sense of not burdened by responsibilities, having the availability to do something or not enslaved.

Vous êtes libre de choisir ce qui vous plaît – You are free to choose what you like

Gratuit refers both to tangible and intangible things alike and means ‘free of charge’.

Voici un biscuit, c’est gratuit avec ton café – Here’s a cookie, it’s free of charge with your coffee