Freerolls are great for those unwilling to spend their own cash but therein lies the problem. It hasn’t cost anything so you’re not losing anything. For this reason play is much more loose in freerolls and players will take greater risks. Just watch the next time you play for free and see how often people go all-in early on. This is very rare in larger buy-in tournaments where play is much more tight.
Freerolls attract a lot of inexperienced players and often become a game of luck. The prize pot is usually not that great, due to there being no entry fee, and you can plug away for hours to finish outside the prize money or to come in the money but win very little.
Very soon many players find themselves bored with freerolls and move on to buy-in tournaments where the booty is better. This does come at a cost of course but the games tend to be more pure and the potential winnings are better. You could be one of 2000 players battling out a freeroll for £50 prize money whereas a £1 buy-in tournament with the same number of players would have £2000 prize money. One pound difference to you but a much greater chance of actually winning something worthwhile.
The trick is to know when to leave the freerolls behind and go for the real money. You need to feel confident with your tournament play and you need to be happy to spend the money. In the main the poor players tend to get knocked out early, leaving the more experienced players to battle it out for the prize pot. If you find that you are consistently getting past the first hour or two and fighting it out for the money, it’s probably time to think about moving on. You could comfortably contest a proper tournament.