Hi,
Thank you for the feedback.
We have optimized the code for better performance, fixed the bugs and added a bunch of new features in the new version. As we have spent a lot of time on this we had to start selling the plugin so we can continue to provide a great value to everybody and top-notch customer support. We will also continue with adding new features, too. In the same time we left the features that are more than enough for the basic user in the free version and more than any of our competitors have in order to give back to the awesome WordPress community.
Regarding the older version of the plugin, as I have mentioned, it had a lot of bugs and it has old, outdated code, so we stopped supporting it. If you want to use the old version you can do it at your own risk.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for the understanding and I hope that you will reconsider your ratings of our plugin.