"You run open source? So it's free?"
We get that question more often than we should. The answer is no. Open source means the source code is open, not that everything around it costs nothing. You still need servers. You still need someone who understands the code. You still need maintenance and support.
But what you avoid is lock-in. You avoid a vendor who raises the price every year and says "what are you going to do, switch systems?". You avoid paying for features you never use. You avoid depending on a company's goodwill for your business to function.
What we mean by freedom is that you can take the code we built for you and give it to another developer if you want. You can switch hosting providers without losing data. You can customise the system without asking permission.
It costs to build. But what you build belongs to you. That is the difference.