No-load does not mean free. The fund still charges a management-fee and other running costs inside its total-expense-ratio, and some no-load classes still carry a service-level distribution charge.
The distinction matters mainly in markets where commission-based distribution remains common. Several jurisdictions, including the UK and the Netherlands, banned commission payments to advisers on retail investment products, which effectively made load-bearing classes obsolete there.
When comparing, put every charge on one annual basis: amortise any load over an expected holding period and add the ongoing ratio. A 4% load held five years is roughly 0.8% a year on top of everything else.
Related: front-end-load, back-end-load, total-expense-ratio, management-fee, twelve-b-one-fee, fee-drag