Kromanjon
Adventurer
Well duh if you have a great group of people to play with for free then that's infinitely better. To be Captain Obvious for a second here, not everyone has a group to play with for free.
You can do all the apples to oranges comparisons you want, $20 is just not particularly expensive to do something that you consider really fun. Personally I wouldn't do online DnD even for free but I've paid more than $20 per session for in-person DnD with a great DM, and it was some of the most worthwhile money I've spent
I don't know anything about apples or oranges but I do know that $20 is a huge amount of money for me so please don't presume that your economic situation translates to everyone else. I also don't like the thought of normalizing having to pay to play ttrpgs. It makes the hobby less welcoming. If someone wants to play they should be able to find someone to play with without having to pay them, that's what I think. Not everyone has a group to play with for free? That's only because some people refuse to play with them without getting compensated.