Also, the reason why modern Apps have switched to a "Freemium" model is exactly for the reason that they want to remove barriers to entry - letting users try before they buy / purchase in game expansions.
A blockchain is different playfield. The fee has to be somewhere, otherwise people will abuse the system.
Steem prevents abuse with rate-limiting how many transactions users can make in a period of time. Other blockchains use transaction fees. For a social media platform, Steem's model is superior because it allows posting and voting for free.
But the fee has to be somewhere, in Steem's case it's in the account creation. When the account is created, it will get some SP which is needed to use the blockchain. So if you want to use freemium model, you have to find a way to raise money for account creation.