The biggest problem with paid for relays for non bitcoiners isnt the cost so much as  having to disclose yourself for payment details (reduced anonymity) , inconvenience (its boring and complicated buying bitcoin).  And cost is still a factor for some when there are free alternatives , but for everyone when they aren't sure if they will even like Nostr.  Subscriptions are a faf.  There are so many,  getting increasingly frustrating and difficult to manage. It doesn't feel like you won your data when you have to pay.  That doesn't make Nostr sound as appealing as it once was.  One of the big fears against paying for Twitter is that it removed anonymity.  I suspect a lot of people don't pay more because of that than cost.  How do we verify relays aren't spying on us and linking our payment details to our posts?   I think being asked to pay for nostr will kill it.  Its a major obstacle for so many reasons, but even when it is free right now people are reluctant to switch to nostr.