What does careware mean?
Careware is software that the author licenses free of monetary charge, provided the user performs some charitable act instead — most commonly donating money to a named charity, but sometimes something simpler, such as helping a neighbour or even smiling at a stranger. The term blends 'care' with the '-ware' ending familiar from software, hardware, and shareware, and it emerged in the era of early personal computing as one of several informal licensing models alongside shareware and freeware. Unlike shareware, which requests payment to the developer, careware directs goodwill entirely toward third parties, making it both a licensing scheme and a small act of philanthropy embedded in code distribution. Though relatively rare today, it remains a memorable example of idealism in software culture, and the word is still occasionally used when developers release tools under charitable conditions.
nounSoftware distributed on the condition that the user perform some act of charity, such as making a donation to a specified good cause, in lieu of paying the author. It is a form of charitable shareware.
- Software licensed on condition that the user performs an act of charity or makes a donation to a good cause rather than paying the author.
"The developer released his text editor as careware, asking users to donate to their local food bank instead of paying him."
"He distributes his backup utility as careware: use it free of charge if you donate to a children's hospice."
"The README explained the careware terms — a contribution to any registered charity would settle the fee."
The programmer behind one famous careware program asked users to 'smile at someone' as payment — no money required.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of careware
The word careware was coined in the English-speaking computing community, likely in North America during the 1980s, by combining 'care' (ultimately from Old English 'caru', meaning sorrow or anxiety, later evolving to mean concern or solicitude) with '-ware', the suffix used for classes of software such as shareware and freeware. Its best-known early populariser was programmer Paul Lutus, who released his Apple Writer program under careware terms, asking users to donate to charity rather than pay him.
How careware is actually used
Informal and largely confined to computing contexts from the late twentieth century; the term is now somewhat dated but still understood among software developers and historians of early personal computing.
Easily confused with careware
Shareware typically asks users to pay the author for continued use, whereas careware asks them to perform an act of charity instead.
Freeware is simply free of charge with no conditions, while careware imposes a charitable condition on its use.