GMail cost me $0, and it's probably the best webmail service/interface out there right now.

>If I were looking to use a service like this, I'd be much happier investing in my time in one I pay for rather than a free one.

Why would the amount of cash you throw at something impact how you invest your time in it? I love Evernote, but me throwing a few bucks a year at it isn't going to change how I already use it.

Yes, you get a good product, but you also get ads. Your information isn't really entirely private. Some people are totally fine with that, and that's OK. But if you don't want a service to do that, usually that means you pay them money. Nothing is free.

> Why would the amount of cash you throw at something impact how you invest your time in it? I love Evernote, but me throwing a few bucks a year at it isn't going to change how I already use it.

I mean that in the sense in order to really use a product like this, I've got to spend time putting recipes into it. The very basic (and not perfect) theory is: if this site is making money from me directly, it's less likely to shut down or want to sell out. I take comfort in that but I know there are counter-examples.

Do Amazon still do affiliate links at 6% or something? You could easily beat $10 a month and I'd get it for free.