The paper defines the boundaries of the term free translation and delves into how such a strategy can be considered in terms of assessing translation quality. The object of the study is the concept of free translation in the works of various researchers. The subject of the study is the implementation of this strategy in literary translations. The research focuses on the distinction between free translation as a translation error and free translation as a translation strategy used intentionally. The authors review various approaches to the definition of free translation and propose their own criteria for distinguishing free translation as a strategy that represents an intentional deviation from the source text. The paper also emphasises that the evaluation of free translation depends on the normative requirements for translation in a particular period of time. The paper uses the following methods: comparative analysis, translation analysis, contextual analysis, and descriptive method. The paper concludes that the strategy of free translation is implemented when the translation decision is optional but motivated from the point of view of the translator as a decision-making actor. Free translation can be considered as a translation error in cases where the translation decision is optional and unmotivated. Free translation as a translation error and free translation as an intentional strategy are distinguished on the basis of the communicative-functional approach to translation, as this approach does not assume that the translation should reflect the content of the original as accurately as possible. When developing a system for assessing the quality of a fiction translation, it is necessary to move away from the semantic approach to equivalence and take into account the functional and communicative features of the target text.