Decisions for a learner

Hi All

So my trial has now ended and I’m trying to work out what I should do now. I used to use phprad but support and guidance is none existent plus the recent releases corrupt your projects, hence looking for an alternative.

I don’t think I would use all the features of pro nor can I afford the subscription, but the basic one which is more affordable for someone learning doesn’t shown that it can connect to any kind of dB.

Does anyone use basic subscription and somehow still use a database?

Thanks guys