After reading many post though I believe that if Simpily3d had a free opensource slicer completion it would definitely be PrusaSlicer 2.3.0.
nope.
Simplify3d does a whole bunch of things that I've yet to be able to do with anything else.

Aesthetically, the layout, menu and profile system is streets ahead of the free slicers. And while all slicers have their own areas where they excel - flashprint, for example, is the best for cutting models and converting jpgs to extruded stls - simplify3d scores really high in all areas.

But the main reason s3d is just so good is the profile system.

Any model can have one or more profiles associated with it in the same build.

If I want to print one part at 0.1 layer height and 150mm/s and another at 0.3 and 75mm/s - I can.
I can apply different profiles to different parts of the same print.
I can have as many profiles as I like - which is bloody useful when you have 4 very different printers going.

Of the free ones I've tried - prusaslicer is the easiest to use.
But lacks the sheer versatility of s3d.

Quality wise - I'd say the printer itself has alot more to dpo with that than the current crop of slicers - which all pretty much do a great job.

And yeah s3d is way to expensive.
I bought mine when uit was about half the price it is now and there really weren't any decent free slicers around.
It also helped that i got a hands on tutorial from one of the 3DP unlimited team at a tct show.
So I knew what i was buying.

So it really depends what aspects of a slicer amd 3d printing you value most.
If you just like slow smooth prints and only have one printer with a single nozzle - then it really doesn't matter much which slicer you use. Just so long as you are comfortable using it.

The more printers you get and the more complex the prints you make (I'm currently doing quite a few prints with embedded parts) the more benefit you'll get from simplify 3d.

And when you consdier the average ender 3 user will end up spending another $200 - at least - over and above the original cost of the basic printer.
S3d really isn't that expensive.