As time went on this was less and less the case, and now I hardly ever use Google for web search. DDG results are a lot better than they used to be and almost always as good as Google in my experience.
I can't tell whether their search algorithms have gotten better or I've gotten used to DDG results.
The same? No. But, that's the point: Whether life gets better or worse is an empirical question, which means that it can be answered experimentally.
As for the cost of the experiment, consider that $50 is less than what many of us spend on renewing dormant domain names each year.
Initially? Probably not.
But given enough time, I think dependence upon Google and continued contributions of ones personal details will be a major detriment.
There is no free lunch.
But will the quality of your internet life be the same? Good luck with alternative search engines result quality.
And the price? Just the email provider you suggest will cost you $48 a year - vs $0 for Google.
Would you like to pay? Fine. The whole point is that Google, in order to provide all those services without paying, actually asks something from you - your data. Just like Facebook and Twitter. Consider G Suite as well, since its privacy guarantees are different from free gmail accounts.