You get authorization in the free offering and that's been the case for the least two major versions.
The things you need to pay for are IMHO not hobby project stuff, like integration with LDAP/AD.
You are of course correct that this used to be the case, and that to some extend this sentiment prevails.
But I feel Elastic (the company) deserves credit for acknowledging the issue and addressing it.
You get authorization in the free offering and that's been the case for the least two major versions.
The things you need to pay for are IMHO not hobby project stuff, like integration with LDAP/AD.
You are of course correct that this used to be the case, and that to some extend this sentiment prevails.
But I feel Elastic (the company) deserves credit for acknowledging the issue and addressing it.