On the other hand, what if, even at a free plan, your SaaS provider’s software is fraught with errors and unreliable behaviour. But, efficiently, does everything you need? Yes, that does happen sometimes.
Well, as a user, you could remain using the service at a free level; if of course you are comfortable with any current issues, and that you are prepared to face any undesirable consequence that may occur. By all means continue until you genuinely need to upgrade.
Or, you could consider investing in the software service by upgrading in hope that your contribution will go towards future improvements.
Elementor, a visual WordPress page builder, is a very good example of a company that has allowed its community free access to as many tools and features necessary to fully evaluate the software they offer before upgrading to a Pro version.
The upgrade unleashes many new and useful features that help streamline the process of building custom page layouts and landing pages, with integrations, e-commerce tools and so on.
However, to a large extent, you can get by without upgrading, especially if your budget does not permit the spend.
Now, whilst this approach seems bound to bring about customer loyalty, you can be sure that there are also undesirable side-effects which the software as a service provider will need to bear. Which is probably why, Elementor has recently been reviewing their pricing structure and offer.