I have the option of paying for every subscription service I use on my iPad without paying Apple a dime - ChatGPT, Google drive, Office 365, every streaming service, Kindle books etc

So do I, I just don't sign up for the subscription through Apple's services but natively through the provider.

Yes. But if the price is the same, it’s much easier to manage subscriptions through Apple.

Many don’t allow you to subscribe through Apple.

Many don't allow you to subscribe through Apple because Apple charges them a fee for doing so.

Even as an Apple fanboy I can understand why they would pull native sign ups through Apple.

That's because the content provider is forced to pay Apple, and they are doing it with your money of course.

That’s just the point - when you pay outside the App Store, Apple gets no money for the subscription

Can you even use an iPad without an Apple cloud account? Can you install anything on it?

What’s wrong with using thier “cloud account”? The issue I was addressing is that subscription based services and software can be paid outside of the App Store and a lot of them don’t have an option to pay through the App Store like Netflix and Spotify.