It has always been a paid product, _with a free public beta_. Now that the public beta has been over (for 6-8 months? I don't remember), it is still free for personal use.

I have been using Orbstack quite for some time now. I didn't know that now one needs to pay for Orbstack usage. Licensing is done on a per-user basis, with up to 5 devices per user (as long as all the devices are owned or primarily operated by the same user).

The site says "Always free for personal use". Do you see anything different?

It always was paid.

Yes, OrbStack is now a paid product. Since it’s no longer in beta, you need to purchase a license for freelance, business, and commercial use.