Societal expectation for the provision of outdoor access to farm animals is growing, mainly for questions of natural behaviour expression. It is thus important to understand the farmers motivational factors to engage in this type of farming in order to increase the job attractiveness and develop strategies to encourage and support farmers in moving towards such systems. This study aimed at identifying the motivational profiles of farmers choosing a trajectory of pig farming with outdoor access. A total of 24 pig farmers providing outdoor access (from indoor with outdoor access to free-range) participated in a semi-structured interview. Questions concerned historical context, farm and practices description and perception of the impact of outdoor access on the farmer, pigs, technico-economic performances, environmental and societal aspects. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis which identified four motivational profiles. Farmers providing "Outdoor access for the animals" were particularly concerned by the animals’ welfare and mainly based their decision to provide an outdoor access on the importance of allowing them to express their natural behaviour and have control over their environment. Farmers providing "Outdoor access for environmental principles" were motivated by the search of low-input, circularity, and autonomy. Those two profiles included farmers working in full outdoor and indoor farms with outdoor access. Farmers developing "Outdoor access for economic reasons" were able to seize the opportunity to go toward a differentiated market along with welfare quality scheme to meet societal expectations. This profile was exclusively constituted by farmers managing indoor farms with outdoor access. Finally, the last profile concerned farmers giving "Outdoor access by tradition" for whom the outdoor access was the result of maintaining traditional familial and regional breeding practices, and this concerned farmers rearing local breeds. The present study highlighted the motivational factors that guided pig farmers in their choice to provide an outdoor access, and the relation to the type of access given.