In reply to Jesse.

can’t users simply use this a few times each year to steal your latest PRO versions without ever paying for the license, etc?

Yes, users can download copies of the plugins from the demo install. However, pretty much every single premium WordPress plugin is being distributed for free through GPL club-style sites. The kinds of users what would steal our software through a demo aren't the kinds of users that would ever buy our software anyway. License checks help, but people will always find a way.

Demos help real customers try our products before they buy, and they help existing customers troubleshoot problems. Those are the people we care about helping.