If you're a B2B startup then it definitely makes sense. For B2C it can be a bit tricky to determine because you want to know if your users find your product useful and the quickest way to get your product in the hands of many users/potential customers is to offer the product for free(with some restrictions).
Especially for indie developers like me, we need to get validation and feedback on the product as quickly as possible, and free plan allows us to get that quickly.
Once you gain some traction then it makes sense to not have a free plan to filter out free users, but in initial stage I wouldn't shy away from free plan personally.
If you're a B2B startup then it definitely makes sense. For B2C it can be a bit tricky to determine because you want to know if your users find your product useful and the quickest way to get your product in the hands of many users/potential customers is to offer the product for free(with some restrictions).
Especially for indie developers like me, we need to get validation and feedback on the product as quickly as possible, and free plan allows us to get that quickly.
Once you gain some traction then it makes sense to not have a free plan to filter out free users, but in initial stage I wouldn't shy away from free plan personally.