there's no such thing as a free lunch

there's no such thing as a free lunch

proverb Nothing is ever really given away for free, so be wary of hidden charges, motives, or agendas. Of course, once you're signed up to the free program, you have to pay for all sorts of extra services to make it even worth using. There's no such thing as a free lunch, after all.
See also: free, lunch, no, such, thing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

 and There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
Prov. Cliché Everything costs something. (Can imply that you should be suspicious of anything that appears to be free.) Fred: This advertisement says I can get an expensive camera for free! Jane: Don't be so gullible. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Mary gave me her sewing machine, but I had to give it $100 worth of repairs before I could even use it. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
See also: free, lunch, no, such, thing
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

there's no such thing as a free lunch

or

there is no free lunch

COMMON People say there's no such thing as a free lunch or there is no free lunch to mean you cannot expect to get things for nothing. There is no such thing as a free lunch, of course, and many of the most attractive looking deals have quite large joining fees. There is no free lunch. Don't feel entitled to anything you don't sweat and struggle for. Note: This expression dates back to at least 1840 in the United States. It recently became popular again when the American economist Milton Friedman used it in the 1970s.
See also: free, lunch, no, such, thing
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

there's no such thing as a free lunch

you never get something for nothing; any benefit received has eventually to be paid for.
1996 Washington Times Europeans are now learning some hard facts of life about socialized medicine: there's no such thing as a free lunch.
See also: free, lunch, no, such, thing
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

there’s no such ˌthing as a free ˈlunch

(spoken) used to say that it is not possible to get something for nothing: I think you should be very careful about accepting his help. Remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.In the past, some pubs/bars offered their customers a ‘free’ lunch, but they had to buy drinks first.
See also: free, lunch, no, such, thing
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a free lunch
  • free lunch
  • (there) ain't no such thing as a free lunch
  • TINSTAAFL
  • TANSTAAFL
  • the only free cheese is in the mousetrap
  • Es
  • (there) ain't no free lunch(es)
  • (as) free as (the) air
  • free as air/as a bird
References in periodicals archive
Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch - or breakfast or evening meal?
YOUR KIDS EAT FREE AT LITTLE CHEF AND HAPPY EATER; There's three free kids' meals for every reader
They say there's no such thing as a free lunch but whoever sat down to one at the RDS yesterday would argue otherwise.
Making a meal of recovery
SOME say there's no such thing as a free lunch but at the Mirror we beg to differ - as TODAY you can tuck into a FREE Greggs sub roll on us!
Free lunch today ..and all this week from
WHO says there's no such thing as a FREE lunch? Not us.
STARTING MONDAY FREE FOOD AT GREGGS
Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? At Little Chef and Happy Eater, kids can have a free lunch, breakfast or dinner throughout the holidays.
3 KIDS EAT FREE AT LITTLE CHEF
So who says there's no such thing as a free lunch - or breakfast and evening meal?
3 KIDS EAT FREE