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I think subscriptions are fair if you want updates, which for anything security related you do. The alternative (from decades ago) is to re-buy it every few years.

Someone has to pay for ongoing maintenance.

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This isn't about cost. If these projects, like bitwarden, were run at cost the price would be negligible. Instead you see software companies with like 80% margins (or even higher). Not to mention that if the price was reduced to near cost then you'd get more users which would even further decrease the cost.

I’m not sure why people focus so much on costs as a driver of prices. They provide a floor on prices (past which it’s unprofitable). But prices are set based on demand and competition. And here there is no “lock in” or monopoly, it’s fairly easy to move between several password managers.

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