Something that I read on the Facebook page and got me thinking I have been on here since 6/7/17 and have sung the praises of dndbeyond to everyone I know, I just don't believe in paying for things I can A)easily make myself for my group and B ) Find free online. 

Yes, I  haven't paid for anything here but I use all the free options to give my players anything they want. Any homebrew race, or class I have taken days to make on here for them to use.

Now I'm not saying all subscribers are rude about it but it pains me to think that people on here/the Facebook page thing everyone has to spend money on here to have fun, I mean the site allows you to make everything that is in the books for free if you have the time to do it. 

So what I would like to know is  How many people are actually free users? why does it matter if I am proud to be one? and Why does it bother some people that some DM's would rather find the cheap to free options instead of paying hundreds of dollars on here?

This isn't saying everything on here should be free this is a site run by a business and the main focus of any business is to make money but my focus is for me and my players to have fun without me going bankrupted when there is a cheaper way that just takes a bit longer to do

If by "cheaper online" you mean downloaded illegally, one shouldn't need to explain how awful that is. If everybody were to do that, we just wouldn't have D&D anymore. The devs are people too, and need to feed their families. If not, disregard.

On the other hand, I subscribe and pay for the resources because it's immensely helpful for me to have a searchable index of official materials, a character builder, Discord bot, etc.

#1, It is NOT bad to be a free user. Each person knows what they need or want to add to the ruleset of the game.

#2, there are lots of people on many different sites who are kind enough to offer their modifications/maps/pictures/art/sidequest/printable props/etc. for next to nothing. Even a like or share can be the help they are looking for.

#3. If you can pull off D&D on the relative cheap, good for you. That is a hard thing for some of us. Some of us are lazier or not as knowledgeable as you. Either share the wealth of your own knowledge(Don't pirate other people's IP) or don't be upset with the jealousy responses.

#4. Don't Pirate the PDFs that are not D&D material, but rather are copies and piracy flat out. D&D didn't sell any PDFs. They are all piracy designed to take money out of D&D artists pockets. Authors and game designers are artists too. If you have some, don't admit to it.

#5. If you are optioned to "pay what you want" on DMGuild, your decision to pay "nothing" reflects poorly on the kind of player and a person you are. If you think it is awesome, pay awesome prices. If you think it is okay, pay okay prices. If you think it F***ing sucks, pay a dollar, leave a bad review and move on. 0 is a petty move.

#6 If you find a great map/product being given away for a confirmed low to free price that you think is outstanding, share the snot out of it on every channel and media you can. If it is great, let the artist know what you love about it. Even if Bob Ross only gets a pity dollar from you for the greatly underpriced effot, the multiple attention means he gets a 1 from liono and one from batman and one from jose jalapeno. More than he would have gotten if you had paid nothing and said nothing.

#7 Don't be a dick. If you think you are wrong for being cheap, you possibly are. Support the artists that are awesome. Vote with your dollars. As in all things, advertise good, ignore bad.

I don't see any sense of being "proud" of being a free or paid user. That's just decisions you do based on what the site offers you and your financial situation. 

I don't think people will have problems with free users in general. I'm paying for some content and subscription here, but my 4 players don't because they only need to create and track their characters. I have other friends that won't spend money here because they prefer physical copies. There is no reason to be rude with any of them.

Probably what people won't like is that the "free" options are the pirate pdf files. But I totally get why you go for the cheapest route, when I was a teenager I only had the Player Handbook and later the Monster book. I had to homebrew any additional content or use the free legal options in the internet, including paying 0 for the "pay what you want". Nowadays I'm a better position to support the authors and my hobby, so I do. 

It's good to pay for the books and stuff - if you can afford them, because if the creators don't get paid then they'll stop making them, but I don't have nearly enough cash to pay for them all so I just the a couple of hardbacks that I saved up for. The pdfs are great for me and I get them from a subscription that a guy I know pays for anyway. If you do have the kind of spare cash to throw around then sure, get the stuff. Mind you, the hard copies of the books are so much nicer than the digital versions even if you have to fill in your character sheet by hand. There are probably a lot of free users out there and its nothing to be ashamed of. They're probably mostly teenager who can't afford to pay out a monthly subscription fee and no-one should get at them for that.

Assuming you use what they make available and don't do anything to violate the TOS of the website, I don't see how it could be considered "bad" for doing what the website allows you to do. If they didn't want people to be able to use the free services, they wouldn't have them.

The wager they are making, like any company that ever offers a free anything, is that by doing the freebie, you will like it enough to purchase. You personally have not done this, but as long as enough people do, it is worth it for them to keep offering a free option. And you are not doing something bad by using that free option.

I mean it's the same as going to goodwill and buying old board games for a dollar just for the dice and pices to use. I for one like buying those metal figs from target that give you a full set for around $20 way cheaper and easier then buying and painting d&d minis. Going to used book stores to get books , not buying or using settings and making your own. 

DnDb can have my money once it becomes my one stop to play DnD online. As of now we still need discord and roll20...and I pay zero for either.

Why would it be bad to be a free user?

The way I look at it, my time is worth a minimum of $10/hr. A sourcebook on DDB costs $30. If it would take me more than 3 hours to program what I want, then it’s more cost effective for me to just buy the book and save the countless hours so I can instead invest that time elsewhere.

I got a subscription because I am a player in two campaigns and a DM for a third. I needed more than 4 NPCs, and my players needed access to the sourcebook material I had purchased. And the subscription has saved me more than 6 hours work, so I got more than the return for my investment. And since some of my players purchased books I did not, I also got access to more than $100 worth of content without having to pay for it, so bonus!!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a free user. But after running my cost-benefit analysis, I personally feel that I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth for my purchases and do not regret them in the slightest. However, your cost-benefit might yield different results, so you should always do what you feel is best for your situation. That’s precisely why DDB offers their free service, so why not take advantage of it?

As long as you are not doing anything illegal, there is nothing wrong with being a free user. If you are not in a financial position to pay, have other financial priorities, you do not think Beyond is up your standards yet, or for whatever other legitimate reasons, do not feel guilty about not paying. Not everyone is a rich, and considering the economic situation we are currently in right now, people should not feel guilty about saving money and tightening their wallets.

Plenty of online games are playable completely for free, and there is nothing wrong with being a free player. Elder Scrolls Online, EVE, Final Fantasy XIV, Maplestory, etc. are all free to play. Paying will definitely help and give you an edge, but it is not necessary to do so.

In a non-gaming context, I eat free samples all the time without feeling guilty about not buying anything. But if a sample I eat is truly delicious though, then I would definitely buy some of that food, and if there are not many other people around, I will ask for a few more samples too.

Being a free user is fine. In systems like D&D Beyond, you need to have a free option to build a large base of users.

What does irk me a bit is folks that are aggressively proud of being a free user, seeing paid users as suckers or something. I am a developer and I got a DDB subscription to support their developers, as well as just to support the game as a whole.

"I could easily do all this without DDB if I wanted..." Take a minute and be honest with yourself. It would not be easy. The whole point of this platform is that it takes away the massive overhead of organizing and managing available content. With DDB you know everyone is using the same rules and the same version of all materials. You can look through all the fighter subclasses without rifling through a stack of books. You can filter monsters and spells in ways that you just can't do without databases and processors. The convenience offered here cannot be understated, especially when you're bringing in new players who are easily overwhelmed or discouraged by the complexity of character creation. IMO, WotC owes a massive debt of gratitude to DDB for making their game SO much easier to get into for new and especially younger users. This tool was a major factor in my own and my group's decision to switch over to 5e, and I imagine we're not the only ones.

Not a free user but I only buy magic items and spells.  Since when running that is the large majority of what may need to be looked up.  I use books for pretty much everything else.  A site like DDB should be expected to have a majority of free users.  The reason for this it was not rolled out properly.  It should have been live at launch not after the majority of the community had already bought in print books.  This created the issue we see nearly every day "why do I need to buy the content again" posts.  Many of these folks would have just bought it on DDB so they botched roll out by not being ready at launch.

I use this site for my game, my players use it,  I have run campaigns on here for a while and  I have made things on here for them to use now I'm not saying anything bad about the people who pay that's fine for them, I use dndbeyond for what I need. A lot of the paid stuff I simply don't need. I have books, the dice is cool as it's on everyone sheets now,  but as for classes and items that's what the homebrew stuff is for and I can just make it.  I do look forward to when new stuff comes out  I love the encounter builder so I don't have to flip through my monster book. I just never understood the logic of if I only use the free options somehow means I pirate content or can do everything on my own and I don't need it. 

You're not violating the ToS by being free, so no, there's nothing 'wrong' with it. D&D beyond would like it if you gave them money, but there's a reason they designed their site so you don't have to. Common reasons companies do that include:

1. Even if you don't give them money now, you might give them money later.
2. Even if you don't give them money, your activity on the site, particularly if you point other people to the site, might cause someone else to give them money.
3. Having an active, dynamic community increases the value of the community to the people who do give them money.

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You're apart of the advertisement/marketing scheme. This is how they get you. It's how they got me. I have the sourcebook bundle. Why? I know not, these DNDBeyond wizards are charming and devious

Quote from Stephanie252 >>

It's good to pay for the books and stuff - if you can afford them, because if the creators don't get paid then they'll stop making them, but I don't have nearly enough cash to pay for them all so I just the a couple of hardbacks that I saved up for. The pdfs are great for me and I get them from a subscription that a guy I know pays for anyway. 

 If you have pdfs of official 5e "books," they are illegal copies; there is no subscription for pdfs of official 5e books.  Even is there were, getting copies from your friend who has the sub would likely be illegal, too.

As for the OP, if you have the time and the talent to sink into homebrewing stuff on here, more power to you!  I've done a little of that, but mostly I've chosen to purchase, both to support development and because of the whole cost/benefit issue.  But that's me, not you.

There is a lot of animosity among many of us toward those folks who want all the content here for free without doing the work; who argue that they already have the print book, so they should get stuff here free, too.  But that's not what you are saying you are putting in the work yourself, a suggestion we often make to those who don't want to have to pay for anything.  Before your question here, I'd never seen anyone criticize someone for being a free user like you are:

On here no but mainly it was something I saw on Facebook, where someone got downright angry over someone saying they are proud to be a free user and I just thought it wasn't something to be upset about as using the free content on here and being happy with it isn't stealing or wrong in any way.

Quote from Estoy_Awesome >>

On here no but mainly it was something I saw on Facebook, where someone got downright angry over someone saying they are proud to be a free user and I just thought it wasn't something to be upset about as using the free content on here and being happy with it isn't stealing or wrong in any way.

 Well, something about Facebook tends to magnify people's responses, especially right now.  I wouldn't worry about it.