A free party is a party free from the restrictions of the legal club scene. While many such parties have no admission charge others (most often indoor events) may ask for a donation on the door to cover costs. These parties are not commercial ventures and are often run by people who just want to have fun - there is typically little or no profit made in putting them on.

Free parties are much like other rave parties, their main distinction being that the venue must be free to use. The result is that they are often held in isolated outdoor venues or abandoned buildings, where they are also known as squat parties.

They often also involve a lot of (mostly illegal) dance drug use and are sometimes organised by groups of drug dealers to create a ready market for their products. It is for this reason that they are usually held in isolated venues or places where police interference is unlikely, such as protected squatting residences (particularly in the UK, where police cannot easily enter a squat).

The types of music played are usually various forms of dance music with fast repetitive beats, but, due to the lack of a commercial interest, the genre chosen is often far from popular main-stream tastes and is decided purely by the tastes of the DJs who play for the sound systems putting the event on.

Due to the lack of licensing restrictions, these parties often start after midnight and continue through the night until morning, often longer. Parties lasting several days are not uncommon; some large teknivals can go on for a week.