What is the difference between the CONTAINS and FREETEXT predicates when performing a full text search?

CONTAINS gives you precise control, letting you search for exact words, phrases, or use logical operators and proximity searches, while FREETEXT performs a more flexible, natural language style search that considers the meaning and different forms of the words you search for, similar to how a general search engine might interpret a query.

-- Precise search using CONTAINS
SELECT * FROM Articles WHERE CONTAINS(Content, '"database performance"');

-- Natural language search using FREETEXT
SELECT * FROM Articles WHERE FREETEXT(Content, 'improving database performance');