You should had read info about the account upgrade system instead of just ragequitting like that based on pure guessing.
It's free to play. You start with one week of upgraded account. This just means you have these ADVANTAGES (most of them are only really important later in the game):
Feature Free Upgraded
Advertising Yes Optional
Game pages load faster * No Yes
Maximum Bases 9 Not limited
Maximum Level of Advanced buildings 5 Not limited
Construction Queue 2 5
Research Queue 2 5
Inbox/Board view Messages 10 20
Locations Bookmark 15 30
Empire Advanced View ** No Yes
Upload personal Avatar No Yes
Account deleted if 15 days without login Yes No
* The advertising on free accounts slow down pages load.
** Empire Bases Capacities, Structures, Fleets and Scanners.