Hard numbers from my free file-converter: ~91% are day-0 one-time visitors, paid conversion is ~0.2%. Chasing "stop the freeloaders" is a trap — monetization is a lever, not a fence. What moved the needle: a value-anchored pricing moment at the point of real intent (right when output quality matters most), a single source of truth for credit packs, and export watermarks on the free tier. For the indie folks running free tools — what's your real free→paid conversion, and what one change moved it most?