Free Software vs Open Source

The term Free Software refers to software that provides the users with freedoms regarding what they can do with the software. (View the source code, modify the source code, and share modified or unmodified software, freely).

The term Open Source usually refers to software that provides the same freedoms. However, it is often used in a less "purist" sense - for example, Linux Mint is a collection of free / open source software but a minority of the software included is proprietary software -- like software that's required to decode and play mp3 files, or to use a particular wireless network card. (No open source alternative is available.)

See also : [1]