Yes, free is good, but if no one makes money anymore, how are you supposed to survive? I think it’s appropriate to pay something for a service 
But yes apple is very extreme. Also in the area of Windows there is a lot of free and/or inexpensive software.
What bothers me about Linux is that there are so many different distributions. It has become very confusing over the decades. This package runs here but not there, this one vice versa.
Then there are various guides that are half-hearted and not checked (some important detail is always missing, the use of which is assumed by the user). This half-information has brought me to despair in the forums, since too much is assumed. Nobody goes by the “stupidest possible user”.
Then, at the time I tried Linux, the installations were so extremely large that far too much space was wasted. Including many programs installed that you do not need. I’ve tried linux many times, but I’ve always strayed from it.