Of course people will choose "free" over "costs something", if all else is equal. You are not adding much to the debate by pointing that out.

Far more interesting to note that paid services (yes, people used to pay for e-mail) have largely been elbowed out by services that look as though they are free, but actually extract their payments by guile and deceit. Now that the general public is starting to appreciate the value of their personal data, perhaps we'll see a rebalancing of the market.