Then they should have charged for it from the very beginning. It's manipulative to use hobbyists as beta testers (while giving the impression of being benevole

Then they should have charged for it from the very beginning. It's manipulative to use hobbyists as beta testers (while giving the impression of being benevolent and caring for the hobbyist and maker community) and then when the software is mature making it impossible for most hobbyists to financially buy into the software. This is not a one-time $500. This is a yearly or monthly subscription that is very expensive for most hobbyists who do not make money using the software. So while I agree that it doesn't need to be completely free, it does not make sense to charge a hobbyist the same amount as for the business user who's making money with the software.