Hi there, first time on these forums. DnD beyond seems like it's a streamlined and effective way to set up your games. Here's my problem - I own all the books (PhB, MM, DMG, SCAG, VGTM, XGTE) and my understanding after having fiddled with the web app, is that I'd need to buy the splat books again to unlock that content for use on character sheets? Now, if I'm DMing and I purchase those books do my players then have access to them, or will they also need to buy that material in an electronic format again? If the latter is the case, I probably won't be making use of the DnD Beyond. Cheers and hope I can get some clarification :)

You need to buy the books.  If you have the $6/month subscription, your players have access to them. 

Thanks for the swift reply :) I probably won't be using it then, not sure if it's worth another $200ish dollar investment plus a monthly subscription for the convenience of digital character sheets :/ 

You can also just unlock specific parts of books. only a class or race etc..  so you may need to purchase all books in one go.  Just the parts you really need. and you will get there in long term bit by bit

Quote from Matthias_von_Schwarzwald >>

You need to buy the books.  If you have the $6/month subscription, your players have access to them. 

Quote from Loswaith >>

Quote from Matthias_von_Schwarzwald >>

You need to buy the books.  If you have the $6/month subscription, your players have access to them. 

 This isn't quite exactly the case.   You can get away with just the master subscription, and some extra work.

From what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong), if people are willing to put the time and effort into recreating the book(s) info as home brew options for the campaign (you obviously cant publish that for anyone outside the campaign to use), then they don't actually need to buy said books. 
That is a chunk of extra work however, and it likely wont include all the details, and certainly wont include the compendium.

If you want to do away with your books entirely, yes, it's expensive. If you just want the character builder, you can just buy the parts of the books relevant to character building, which may be better value for you. Depends on what you consider worthwhile.

You may as well buy the whole PHB. You can purchase just magic items in DMG for $13. Playable races in Volo's are $10 plus $3 for subraces. Or you can buy individual races, subclasses, spells, etc. each for a couple of bucks. The amount is credited towards the purchase of the source book, so if you change your mind later, you haven't lost anything.

Then $6/month (or less for annual subscription) for master tier subscription to share all with your group.

Hey would the players need to have a hero tier subscription to have content shared with them?

Quote from Bellokar >>

Hey would the players need to have a hero tier subscription to have content shared with them?

I can tell you this, It cost me about 300$. All the books and then I bought the Master Teir for 1 year.

Personally, My players and I won't be going back to anything else. This site is perfect for our blend of technology and old-school playing. We have everything we need in front of us no flipping pages or remember what book our subclass was in. Everything is right on the character sheet and is easy to read. The rest we do old school

As someone who resisted any electronic devices at the table for a long time, I have to disagree .

I thought it would be disruptive, but it is actually the opposite.  First off it takes less table space for a tablet compared to book/sheets.  Second, quicker lookups results in more time interacting with people, less time flipping paper.  Management of hp /spell slots / resources/rests is a breeze.  I was very surprised, but it completely resulted in fewer distractions/game play breaks for my groups.  Less time bookkeeping, more time playing means more immersive for us.

I have players who would never buy the books, or at least not all the books I have.  But now they can access them via my master tier sub.  It is far more cost effective.

It sounds To me like your issues with dnd beyond have more to due with your resistance to using technology than if it is a good value.  And if you don’t want to use it at your table, that’s just fine.  But If you don’t want the product, it won’t be worth it for you at any price. Again, that is just fine, for you.

For me and my groups?  Completely worth it.

Quote from Burlokk >>

DND beyond really isnt worth it for me

 There, I fixed it for you.

My whole table loved it.

Hell, if DnD Beyond started carrying third party books (Tome of Beasts, I'm looking at you), I'd buy 'em in an instant.  Sure, there's something particularly nice about a physical book.  But nothing beats the ease of use, practicality, and convenience of digital access.

another option, and not a popular one or one i really support as I love my shelf of books, is to sell the physical books and just go all digital. I know you will not get the value you paid for them (most likely that is, I have no idea the condition or market in your area). Use that money towards the digital, or as others have said, have one person buy a different book and then share.

the 2nd part not being spoken of is if you go with the Legendary Bundle. Yes it is an expensive up front cost, but there is also a discount for buying in bulk and then again on future books to come out. Of course as you purchase a book, the price you pay is reflected in decreased amount of the LB making it cheaper over time (this is what I did till be became a trade off of buying for the cost of two books and getting a 3rd book free, or buying 1 separate.). Thus, if you buy the PHB on sale, then only the amount you actually pay decreases the amount, not the full cost. I know, it is a sticky point, but then with Halloween and the other holidays coming up, there are possible coupon codes coming out.

In all, my facebook group likes it because we are spread out across the US and they all have access to the books without having to purchase them.