Does the Lifetime plan really never charge again, and what's the catch?

It's a genuine one-time payment, no renewals, that's the whole idea of it. Lifetime is $129 (normally $199) and it never bills again, you get Pro and future updates without a subscription. The only 'catch' is it's a bigger upfront number than the $4.99/mo, so it pays off if you're planning to stick around (roughly a couple of years of Pro and you're ahead). If you'd rather keep it small and flexible, monthly Pro cancels anytime. No hidden 'lifetime means our lifetime' asterisk that I've seen.

Paid Lifetime specifically to never think about billing again. It's just Pro, forever, one payment. Made sense for me since I'm not going back to a taskbar full of apps.