Payment before creating a new topic

A workaround is to use an existing payment plugin and have people added to a group that has write access to the category in question. The monthly option is easy, as removing a user from the group when the subscription is over is a standard feature. Removing the user after a single topic is created is a bit more complicated, but possible in a plugin.

You’d likely need a budget of $500-1000 for a custom plugin.