Seems like a bunch of people think this is the case. See this translated post from Yoshi-P: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post553471

Specifically consider the following from the last quote of that post:

... Inactive characters/non-subscribers are also counted, but they are not factored into the maximum limit of active characters allocated to each server. ...
Sorry for making another thread, but it seems like many players do not know this.

Also, please correct me if you have evidence this is not accurate.