I recall Asmallorange having a lifetime offer (running for a limited time only), and the stated reason was basically, to raise capital. It can be a way of borrowing really, in the hope that profits will more than cover the repeated and potentially never ending costs. Can it really work? I suppose it can, if accounts are not upgraded in any way, at some point they become deprecated. With technological advance, they will be ever cheaper to host too. It's less risky for the host in a way too, for lifetime is usually defined as the life of the company. Company fails, lifetime ends, end of story, no banks chasing to get the debt.