Free software changed everything.
It lowered barriers. Democratized access. Made powerful tools available to anyone.
But the cost was never zero. It was just hidden.
When software is free, something else becomes the product. Usually attention. Sometimes data. Often both.
For years, users accepted this trade-off without thinking about it. Free felt like a gift.
But awareness is growing.
People are starting to ask what they're giving up. They're noticing the ads, the tracking, the subtle pressure to engage more than they want to.
And a new willingness is emerging — to pay for tools that don't ask for anything except money.
Paid software is becoming a statement: "I'd rather be the customer than the product."
This doesn't mean free is going away. But the assumption that free is always better is fading.
The real cost is becoming visible.
That's the shift worth noticing.