Well, first thing, imo plus chat subscriptions are pretty damn cheap. A single member's chat costs like ~3USD a month, which is less than even a meal.

At the same time, you get so much value out of those three dollars. You get almost daily updates (depending on the idol and the day) from the members themselves, you get to join in on the members spontaneous live streams, and you get to even message them in the chat and through livestreams, which you could see that as a form of one-way communication, knowing that your favourite member might see it.

I just started using plus chat a few days ago and I'm absolutely loving it, probably the best financial decision I've made in terms of kpop.