It used to be possible to get a free Qur'aan from CAIR (
http://www.cair-net.org/), but later it was "free, with shipping and handling". I don't see it now. Huge sucker, it was.
In any event, there are, roughly speaking, two kinds of translations ("paraphrases", in the Muslim view). Those that try to translate the most likely meaning given the language and context, without regard for how it reflects on the text or Islam--mostly older translations. Then there are more moderate, mostly newer, translations that tone down the 7th century rhetoric so that it's in keeping with "moderate" Muslim views. Both gloss over a lot of the debate and controversy over what some words mean; some passages have traditional meanings, i.e., you can't get those meanings (or often any) out of them through a naive reading. Bin Laden and DUer Ayeshahaqqiqa have the same Qur'aan, but they interpret them in dramatically different fashions.
I'd read one of each. The older ones will be less accessible.
Beware the expurgated versions, the ones that leave out all the boring and controversial stuff. Those fall into the category of "proselytizing materials". A few years ago a university made the Qur'aan required reading for incoming frosh, and created a firestorm of controversy. First, because it was a religious text--that was the one reported. Second, because it wasn't a complete version.
On edit: Here's the "free" CAIR Quran:
https://www.cair.com/explorethequran/request.asp "Please note that as of October 1, 2006, requestors are asked to pay, by credit/debit card, $7.65 to cover the cost of shipping by Media Mail. Each Qur’an is a hardback edition, retailing at $55."