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PAID VS. FREE: WHICH IS BETTER?

It depends!

Free is a wonderful price, and some excellent free extensions are available (like Akeeba Backup and JCE). However, I've worked with free extensions that have wound up being more expensive than their paid counterparts.

Much of the paid vs. free debate hinges on your own preferences. If you're building a site with absolutely no budget, you may be limited to free extensions. If you can scrape together a little money, you can purchase extensions as well. Most extensions are in the $20–$30 range, but they can cost as little as $5 to as much as $150, depending on the extension.

To calculate the “true” cost of an extension, think about how you work. When you run into a problem, do you typically ask a question (e.g., by phone, by e-mail, on a forum) and get an answer quickly? Or do you prefer to research the answer in the documentation? Or do you like figuring things out on your own?

Generally speaking, paid extensions offer some kind of support. There's someone you can call or e-mail, or there's a forum where you can post your question and expect an answer. Generally speaking, free extensions don't offer this level of support, which can be costly to the provider. Having said that, some free extensions offer spectacular support (like Akeeba Backup).

If you need to use a free extension but also need good support, consider looking at Joomla's Popular Extensions link, which is located in the left column of the JED site, under the Directory Menu ...