I disagree. When the subscription service came out, they very clearly offered both options side by side and the boxes were the exact same size, had the exact same button to proceed, and the same coloring. You were given a choice.
Starting with 1Password 7's beta, they "hid" the standalone option on the site and then removed it completely and only allowed for purchasing standalone versions through the app itself but that was announced prior to them doing it.
Maybe it was a timing thing, but I strictly remember it being different than how you describe here
The only way I even know a standalone option existed at the time that I moved to 1PW was because of reviews/comments on other sites that then led me to support pages that said "oh yeah, if you still want that version, smirk smirk, then use this special link"
