Umm... Hi? Not really sure how this works as this is my first time posting anything. I read the guidelines but still wasn't sure where to put this or if it might already be asked so I just put it into general discussion, sorry in advance if this isn't where this topic belongs.

I've just started playing D&D and have brought quiet a few of the 5e books, the three core books, Volo's Guide, Mordenkainen's Tome, plus a few other's. I was wondering if to use this site to any real advantage I have to by the books a second time digitally, because I can't afford it. Especially as the digital copies are almost as expensive as the physical copies. I feel that the answer may be obvious but I'm hoping I may have overlooked something?

Yes, if you want to use the digital copies, you must purchase them.

The advantages are:

• The books are searchable
• You can integrate the purchased content into the character builder and encounter builder
• You can copy purchased items when making homebrew content rather than starting from scratch
• Purchased content is shared with others in a campaign if someone has a master tier subscription
• You can download the content onto the compendium app for offline reading
• All the digital versions of the books have linking between features (no more searching for a monster stat block, just click the link)

As for cost, I'd be surprised if they're almost as expensive as the physical books; I pay around £35 for physical and usually something like £20 for digital.

It depends what you’re after. 

There are two parts to consider:

1. compendium content, which is basically the books in digital format. Maybe not worth it for you. The SRD content is free, so you can search the basic rules quickly - but you probably already know them. 

2. tools, which are all the components used in the character builder - classes, races, spells, backgrounds, etc., and monsters for the encounter builder (for DMs). You can purchase these individually, down to individual spells, for $2 ea and use them for your characters. If you’re a player interested in the character builder (which I think is brilliant), they’re definitely worth it. It’ll cost you over time, but not all at once and not as much as the books (and what you pay is deducted from the cost of the book if you change your mind later). If you’re a DM - for the time being, it’s probably not worth it. They’re building an encounter builder which I think will be fantastic when finished, but it’s not there yet.

 I’ve just bought the hardcover copy of Descent, but I’ll probably still invest in the DDB tools, including monsters, because I really like being able to look them up - but I’ll probably give the compendium a pass.

From what I could work out, this site uses the American Dollar for it's purchases, and because I'm from Australia, the cost of a $30 digital book becomes around $50-$54 which is only $6-$10 less then what I pay for the physical version. So for me, it's like purchasing the same thing twice and no digital copy is worth that close to a physical copy.

Thanks for clearing it up for me, I kinda figured that was the case but I was hoping that it wasn't.

Worth noting, if you want to use the site for building characters, or referencing monsters. You can make personal Homebrew copies of the class options/spells/monsters you want to use on the site. The only restriction is you can't "publish" copywritten content for other users to use. 

Another thing to keep in mind as you ponder what to do:  there are often coupon codes available that reduce the cost of purchases. There's a thread somewhere in these forums that lists current codes.

I'd encourage you to start slowly with purchases (if at all) and give some thought to how you want to use the site.  You might find the Buyer's Guide linked in my signature helpful.

I started with just the PHB, purchased when it was on sale, and then slowly added things piecemeal as I needed/had a budget for them.  Sometimes I just homebrewed the option instead of purchasing it.  I understand not being able to afford both physical and digital copies.  If you get a chance to play around with the free tools here, that might help you decide what to do in the future when you want to buy a resource.  Some folks here only buy the content on DDB and don't get physical copies at all.  Some do both.  Some do a combination.  I have access to the physical books (because my son owns them and he is still at home), but I only purchase on here.  

I would add to all the excellent answers above that you don't have to buy an entire book on DDB.   Can buy them bits a time, by purchasing what you want to use.

For example, let's say that you wanted to play a Fallen Aasimar, you can purchase that one specific subrace from Volos for $1.99.  You will then be able to use it in the character creator, to make your Fallen Aasimar character.

So you don't need to purchase the entirety of Volos to get that subrace, and this is another benefit of using DDB.  You can build your digital collection up slowly, over time by purchasing bits on pieces here and there, as and when you need them.

You can also use the homebrew tools to copy anything from your physical books and make it available to you.  You won't get to share it with the community, but you don't need to do that, to use it. Any homebrew you create is available for your use as 'private homebrew.' In addition to this, anything that WoTC provides free charge is available free of charge on DDB.

You also get these forums and a whole community of friendly people who are willing to answer your questions and help you out the best they can.

So in short, I would say that DDB is worth it and certainly a valuable resource for anyone playing 5e.

This gets asked a lot.

No, having the physical books does not mean you can get the D&D Beyond versions for free.

D&D Beyond is a different company than Wizards, which still has to pay a licensing fee for the books.

See this thread for more information and the value you get

Thank you all for your answers, now I know how the purchasing works on this site. It's too bad that I can't make much use of this site as buying a digital copy of these books for only ten dollars less then the actual physical books is out of my price range because I can't justify buying the same thing essentially twice. That and I find physical copies are more reliable then digital. Buying things bit by bit might work but that's still $4-$5 for each item for me because of conversion rates.

Quote from Willdraco1987 >>

Thank you all for your answers, now I know how the purchasing works on this site. It's too bad that I can't make much use of this site as buying a digital copy of these books for only ten dollars less then the actual physical books is out of my price range because I can't justify buying the same thing essentially twice. That and I find physical copies are more reliable then digital. Buying things bit by bit might work but that's still $4-$5 for each item for me because of conversion rates.

Pleased you found out what you wanted to know.  Almost!  One thing that I would say though is that DDB has reasonably regular sales and offers and you might like to check out this post if you haven't already.  There is also a post going around the forums asking about currently active coupon codes.  I have never seen any posted in their myself, but it might be worthwhile keeping an eye on it, just in case there ever is.  If you or someone in your campaign has the Master Tier, you can enable content charing.  Though I believe this is limited to only the primary sourcebooks, I could be wrong in that.

Lastly, though, you can still make awesome characters using the basic rules that are available for free. For example, in five minutes, I just knocked up this character Bollo Rollo. A human barbarian.

https://ddb.ac/characters/16993477/iUSoev

You could probably come up with something awesome, by spending more time than the few minutes I did, to create this example character.  So you can still create cool characters on DDB, white you are buying bits and bobs here and there.

Whatever you decide to do, may Tymora grant you all the luck that your deserve and I look forward to seeing you around the forums.

d&d beyond should start offering physical/digital-bundles. with them selling you both the physical and digital version in one.

Quote from Topetine >>

d&d beyond should start offering physical/digital-bundles. with them selling you both the physical and digital version in one.

 That's a lot harder than you think.

Anecdote: in late 2019, not long after this thread, they released physical "starter sets", which included QR codes for discounted and free digital content on DDB. Does anyone know if this was a once off or if the newer content (EGtW etc.) has adopted this dual format?

Cheers

I would love to see a collaboration between WoTC and D&DB, I would quite happily pay more for a physical copy of a book, which i prefer, if i was getting a code to unlock the content on D&DB.

Quote from TyDees >>

Anecdote: in late 2019, not long after this thread, they released physical "starter sets", which included QR codes for discounted and free digital content on DDB. Does anyone know if this was a once off or if the newer content (EGtW etc.) has adopted this dual format?

Cheers

It's a one-off. It's like the "buy one get one free" sale they use to get you into the store but what they really want you to do is purchase all the other stuff they are selling at full price.

It was a promotion and boosted awareness of DDB while still promoting the physical books.

With the current success of DDB and physical books, it is unknown whether another boost is worthwhile.

Please, remember that there are many things to consider far beyond the superficial things that we customers see. It's far easier to be an armchair CEO with only customer-facing information than an actual CEO with what's really going on behind the scenes while balancing needs and resources with satisfying customers.

Trust that their decisions have valid reasons.