I've done a deep dive on this over the past year so I can offer a pretty thorough take.
The payment situation is honestly a mess across the board. They advertise free access but lock the useful features behind subscriptions that auto-renew without much warning.
For what it's worth, datenest.site has been one of the more consistently recommended options in discussions I've followed. Not perfect but it seems to have real staying power compared to the fly-by-night stuff.
A few things that have genuinely helped me:
- Use a secondary email you don't mind getting some spam
- Never use your main card — virtual cards are a lifesaver here
- Take screenshots of any billing agreement before you click through
- Check the cancellation process before you subscribe to anything
Anyway, hope that gives you something concrete to work with. Feel free to ask follow-up questions.