I wish the play store would just let me filter based on app intrusiveness. Let me find things that don't use ads, don't have in-app purchases, and don't collect data. Looking at "paid" apps is NOT equivalent. Then I can maybe read reviews and get what I want. Once the quality bar has been raised I don't have any problem paying a few bucks (or more) for an app that behaves the way I want.
You can use Yalp Store [1]. It allows to search and filter Google Play Store apps based on (i) Apps with ads, (ii) Paid apps and (iii) Apps using GSF.
Another reflex is to look on the F-Droid Store if an equivalent FOSS application exists before looking for one in the Google Play Store. There are some excellent apps there, such as NewPipe [2] for instance!
I second this. Finding apps became a lot easyer and faster with F-Droid/Yalp combo. I can look for a free app on F-Droid and if it does not exist I can find a alternative on Play Store, an all with no GSF installed on the phone.
If the costs are one-off costs, then probably. However, for any services that result in ongoing costs to maintain, it'll mean Yet Another Subscription Service, for which there is already a high amount of fatigue and animosity towards.
