it not being free makes sense
monthly payments is just bullstuff
I and the entire EVE community have explained this a thousand times.
EVE servers, and now Dust, cost a
lot of money. Currently monthly payment adds up to $20, so make the game the standard $60 and that covers 3 months of current payment.
After 3 months they no longer make ANY profit to pay their servers from you, so suppose membership is really low the next three months, next thing you know, boom, EVE is bankrupt and you'll never play it again.
If you can't afford monthly payment, either get good and make ISK to pay for PLEX, or stop playing and complaining.