Finally gave up googling and decided to ask people with real experience.
The free tiers on most of what I've tried are basically useless — you get just enough to see real people are there, then hit a wall the moment you try to message anyone.
The main problem I keep running into is not knowing who to trust or where to start. There's a ton of conflicting advice out there and half of it feels like it's from people who want to sell you something.
Looking for real opinions here, not just the same recycled top-ten list.