What Just Changed

Adobe Stock Free Trial: Free Score 18 → 14; the trial's annual commitment made explicit. We described Adobe's cancellation fee as something annual-plan 'variants can carry'. Adobe's own trial page shows the annual commitment billed monthly is the default the trial enrols you in, with a published fee of half the remaining year if you cancel more than 14 days after it converts. Also records the 14-day full-refund window, a second exit our page never mentioned.

Trello: Free Score 82 → 74; the members claim corrected. Our page said the free plan included unlimited members and called that unusually generous. Atlassian capped free Workspaces at 10 collaborators on 8 April 2024 — counting guests and pending invites — and a Workspace over the limit has its boards turned view-only with automations halted. The verdict stays Free forever, because the tier really is permanent and cardless, but the score drops: three hard fences, and an overage penalty that removes access you already had.

WordPress: Split into .com and .org; free storage cut recorded. Search data showed people asking 'is WordPress free' and landing on a page about WordPress.com only. The .org/.com distinction is the answer, so each now has its own verdict: the software Truly Free, the hosted service Free-ish. Also records that WordPress.com's free storage dropped from 3GB to 1GB.

Link audit: Six listing links repaired. Checked all 161 outbound listing links. Two FTC guidance pages had 404'd after a site restructure, and four products had moved domain: Anchor to Spotify for Creators, zoom.us to zoom.com, CS50 to its course page, and Google Digital Garage into Skillshop. The Digital Garage courses remain free.

Peacock: Free tier confirmed closed to new customers. Peacock stopped offering its free ad-supported tier to new customers in January 2023; existing accounts were grandfathered. Our listing still described the free tier as available, which was wrong for anyone signing up today. Re-verified and re-graded, free score 42 to 4.

Adobe: DOJ settlement — $150M over cancellation dark patterns. Adobe settled a Department of Justice lawsuit over hidden early-termination fees and obstructive cancellation flows: $75 million in free services to affected customers, $75 million to the DOJ. Customers charged the 50% exit fee between January 2019 and July 2025 may be eligible.

Mailchimp: Free plan cut to 250 contacts. Down from 2,000 contacts in 2021, then 500, now 250 with a 500-send monthly cap. Fourth cut since the Intuit acquisition.

Crunchyroll: Free tier killed entirely. Ad-supported free streaming shut down December 31, 2025. Every plan now requires payment. Some older titles still surface on Tubi and Pluto TV.

Duolingo: Energy meter replaces hearts on mobile. The new energy system drains even on correct answers, capping most free mobile users at a couple of lessons per day. Web version still runs the gentler hearts system.

Zoom: 40-minute limit now includes 1-on-1 calls. One-on-one calls were previously unlimited on the free plan. Now all meetings hosted by free accounts cap at 40 minutes.

Amazon Prime Video: Ads added to paid plans. Even paying Prime members now see ads unless they pay an additional ad-free upcharge — a second toll booth on a service already behind a paywall.

TurboTax: FTC rules advertising deceptive. The Federal Trade Commission found Intuit's 'free' advertising deceptive — most filers who start the 'free' flow are forced into paid tiers mid-return.

Midjourney: Free trial suspended indefinitely. The ~25-generation free trial was suspended due to abuse and demand. As of July 2026 it has never returned to the main platform.

LastPass: Encrypted vaults breached. Attackers accessed encrypted password vaults. LastPass says strong master passwords protect users; security researchers noted weaker defaults on older accounts.

Intuit / TurboTax: Left IRS Free File program. Intuit withdrew from the IRS Free File partnership that required genuine free filing for low-income taxpayers, making TurboTax's 'free' its own definition rather than the IRS's.

LastPass: Free restricted to one device type. Free users can now sync passwords on mobile OR desktop, not both — crippling the core purpose of a password manager. Drove mass migration to Bitwarden.