Maurice,
LinkAssistant versions 1.x and 2.x had no Live! Plan, cause it only had 3 search engines in it (and we could afford ourselves to maintain them free of chargs). Since version 3, the tool supports
crazy amount of search engines (more than 500 already, and more coming), and we just can't afford supporting them free (otherwise, we wouldn't be able to add new features at all.) Hope this makes sense to you.
Besides, can you please tell me the exact "crazy amount" you say you must pay? Let's be honest,
$3/month (in case you get Live! Plan for 3 years) is not a "crazy amount", right?
Anyway, thanks for your comments, and thank you for understanding.