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Discourse about psychoanalysis suggests that an analysis with a consultant should not be completely free. This is underpinned by the hegemonic economic presupposition that the fee paid (even if it is low) guarantees the involvement of the patient in their psychoanalytic process. Freud’s reference to the value of an analysis is ambiguous because it covers two heterogeneous levels (the material and the symbolic) which intersect with the asymmetrical positions of the analyst and the patient. Marcel Mauss’s later gift theory could constitute a heuristic framework for the psychoanalyst who wishes to offer free treatment. This article takes the form of a propaedeutic reflection intended to open up discussions of an epistemological and practical nature.