Ask HN: What do you do when a competitor offers their service for free?

This competitor is planning to monetize their user base indirectly, probably valuing them as an email list.

However, I think this service provides enough value alone that people would pay for it. I don't think they realize it, because they are not their own end users (whereas I am building the service based on my own needs).

I'd really prefer not to build my own freemium version to compete with them. I think my service can be slightly better, but a free version would take away most people who would have chosen the cheapest plan.

Anyone have a story that is related?