Free is what?

I watch the communities.  When someone is looking for software, the first post is about some free or Open Source software somewhere that no one has ever heard of before the post.

How many insurance companies would be out of business if they gave insurance away for free? Yet, we need insurance. In the event of a catastrophe, the premiums are worth the cost. The cost ensures that the insurance company is funded enough to be able to provide the service when we need it most.

If we all went with *free* software, how much longer could that software be sustained? 2 years? 5 years? And, then what?

Maybe, I'm stupid (waiting for comments :) ), but why do a lot of small business consultants always look for free software first? Companies understand the cost of doing business. Computing is one of the primary costs. If a company doesn't understand that the costs of computers, and the cost of maintaining those computers is part of the business, then these small business consultants aren't doing their job.  Do small business consultants really think their customers are that stupid? 

My thought is that we gather together the paid solutions, sift through their features and offerings, and then, and only then, go find an Open Source or *free* solution that matches the paid solution EXACTLY.  My guess is that you’d never find an Open Source or free offering that provides the same, feature-to-feature, solution.