I think before the plan started free, but you could be charged if there was more than moderate usage/bandwidth/whatever. Now if you are on the free plan as opposed to the starter plan they'll cut you off rather than charge you money. At least that's what I understood.
So what are they? The cynic in me says that they must exist.
Edit: now I’m on a laptop. Netlify’s AI suggests they’re the same. The pricing page suggests they’re the same.
So ‘Netlify renamed its starter plan’ might be a better title for this blog post. What am I missing?