Why is it that you have to pay to use the email re-routing services? I need to integrate my old accounts so I continue to get email and download to my computer so I don't have to tediously logon and check EVERY. SINGLE. EMAIL.

Even IMAP only would be a godsend because AT LEAST I could download to my computer and only login to send messages as necessary.

You say that these restrictions are so you'll upgrade to a paid account to pay for the free accounts (etc, etc, etc) but are they really? I find it strains the imagination that GOOGLE will allow you to download your emails and send them FOR FREE and of course they use ads and crawling software to pay for it. Heck, MOST email providers will. Until I met protonmail I hadn't encountered an email service that prevented IMAP to free accounts since the early 2000s. Yet the almighty protonmail can't even allow you to download your messages to your computer without paying a nominal fee? Outrageous.

Then people wonder why gmail and the like are still popular....

Don't bother sending me an email to address provided by the way, it's from a shitty service that doesn't allow IMAP to free accounts.