The freemium model is in and of itself interesting because most tech leaders in the public sector are quite allergic to the idea of monetizing the public view of data and content. They want the organizations who produce the data to fund the platforms, with the public views being a key piece of the puzzle, but not the funding source. I'm actually with you on it, that if the public wants deep engagement, it is worth some small fees. But we're the minority - most folks with whom I've discussed projects vehemently reject the idea.
As you are also asking for a "Pro" subscription for API access, I'd open up the public view and rely instead on API fees.
Perhaps I can make more things seen in the "Free tier"
You can at least drill down onto what the spending is all about! Where I'm near its not mainly social security (^: