How can something that’s free cost more than something commercial?

It can’t.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints that Microsoft misled consumers by running advertisements claiming Linux is 10 times more expensive than Windows. The print advertisements used “independent research” to compare the cost of Linux on an expensive mainframe to Windows on a PC.

It’s kinda funny to watch [[M$]] fumble around to try and convince people that it’s still the cheapest solution.