There's a big difference between "Free" and demo versions. I've personally found that most music software makers always have an angle or strategy to up-sell when they say their tools are free, and that's simply NOT free. Now even demo versions of software give you no accurate indication of what happens behind the scenes.<p>Free plug-ins often install additional software, security tools (digital dongles) and drivers that can cause problems even once they are installed, especially if you don't purchase the full version. They also often don't uninstall correctly as well. I tried Vital months ago and found the free version to be limited in many subtle ways and processor intensive, which likely is not as much the case in the full version.<p>I am very cautious now about plug-ins and other software offered online as "Free" because after trying out the free version of Fresh Air by Slate digital a few months ago, it never managed to run and my DAW and computer experienced total failure and data corruption caused by their licensing tool, which cost me a lot more than the full version cost, but it also cost the company me, as a potential customer. Luckily I routinely make backups, I can't afford to lose my work and data by trying dodgy apps... No exceptions.