alt Hacker NewsI think that's false, with the current state of internet, advertising everywhere, enshitification and monetization of users private data, some people are ready to pay for services that were considered "free".
I am paying for kagi, and I would pay for a good, private browser (I know they make onion but I'm on linux, not macos or windows).
Vivaldi is a decent option if you aren't specifically looking to get off Blink as the engine. It has an integrated adblocker and many other privacy-related features.