No-cost
adj.kind, hopefulprofessional
What it means
Available without requiring payment.
Reach for it when describing something supplied without a price to its recipient
The center offers no-cost tutoring to every local teenager.
Choose between these
6- everyday
the reader simply pays no price
not when Free can also imply unrestricted use.
- professional
free of charge
unambiguous payment language is needed
not when The phrase says nothing about later obligations.
- professional
subsidized
another party covers some or all cost
not when Subsidized services may still require payment.
- formal
complimentary
a business provides something as a courtesy
not when Complimentary often accompanies a paid relationship.
- formal
pro bono
professional services are donated for public benefit
not when Pro bono applies to services, not ordinary goods.
- literary
a compact formal borrowing suits the voice
not when Gratis can feel legalistic or showy.
Said against
3- fee-based
- paid
- chargeable
It naturally appears in
3- no-cost option
The clinic added a no-cost option for uninsured patients.
- no-cost training
No-cost training helped volunteers learn the new radio system.
- available at no cost
The repair guide is available at no cost to every tenant.
Where this comes from
No-cost identifies the recipient's price, not the absence of funding, labor, data use, or future charges.
No-cost is not a headword in the dictionaries below. The sense was checked against their entries for no and cost, and the definition and example here are written for No-cost itself.
- wiktionary, the entry for no, English determiner, not any sense opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-27
- wiktionary, the entry for cost, English noun, amount paid sense opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-27
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.