In reply to Luke Cavanagh.

I'm compelled to point out that while we've clearly stated that there are cheaper alternatives for generic Elasticsearch that are almost certainly a better fit for small budgets and personal use, that it is misleading to frame those as the "same thing."

As explained in the story, it's like comparing enterprise managed WordPress hosting (VIP, Pagely, Enterprise WP Engine packages) to AWS or a shared Bluehost account, or comparing a Pixel or "Nexus" device to a cheap, generic Android phone.

There are real benefits to knowing we're 100% managing the plugin and hosting platform in harmony, and receiving premium support from a team that understands both Elastic and WordPress. Elastic is known to break compatibility with some of their updates, and - increasingly - it will be much easier to use some innovative ElasticPress modules with ElasticPress.io hosting.

Not for everyone, but hardly an "unreasonable" proposition for our target market.