Charging for our product originally hurt but ultimately saved our startup
I think there is a sense of “if I pay, it probably has a value so said company can charge a customer, and it is likely said company will not to fail so soon.” Not that this is always true, but with a reasonable trial and active customer support team, I think a starter plan is never a bad idea at all. Making a paid plan also means the company has to work double harder now to deliver a better product and a better customer experience, unlike IMO a free tool has the “we will get there eventually, let’s test with free users first.”