why does learning chess have to cost money?

You could use Lichess and follow good YouTubers like Chess Coach Andras. Heck, people even made collection of master games that you can go through for free. Lessons on chess.com are not worth the investment in my opinion mainly do to some of them having very thick accents and not the best presentation skills with the exception of Simon Williams or even Gotham. But you can use your free lesson a week to make the decision for yourself.

Of course, spending money on a good program/community is probably the best, it is not necessary and depends on your goals and how serious you are.

One chess web site will never provide everything you want for free.  This site with a free membership is good at providing the opportunity to play against people and bots and analyze your games after they've been played, and playing + post-game analysis are the most important aspects of improving your skill.  For lessons, buy a book, get a coach, or watch YouTube videos.

Except for buying a chess set and paying tournament fees, I've never spent a penny on Chess.

Rating: 2351

What was the question again?

As far as I know, all the learning resources on chess.com are free. The only caveat, for free members, is that some of these resources are limited to a few per day, or a few per week.

You might like the Learn -> Openings section (https://www.chess.com/openings), as each main opening includes an instructive video lesson. Free for all members.

The Learn -> Practice section (https://www.chess.com/practice) allows you to practice certain skills against chess.com bots (at a strength level of your choosing). Also free, for all members.

Puzzles and Puzzle Rush (https://www.chess.com/puzzles) are also free for all members, though these are limited to one or a few per day. But that should be more than enough, for most players.

The forums are also free, which can be an excellent learning resource - as long as you ask the right questions.

And I would recommend not scoffing at YouTube. There are plenty of instructive videos there, which can help aspiring players such as yourself - as long as you're willing to look.

Whatever happened to libraries and books? Why shouldn't you be looking for alternatives?

And if you want it fast and easy, why shouldn't you pay for a coach?

What if you pick a college course and don't graduate? What if your life partner turns out wrong? What if?

Chess is a relatively inexpensive hobby. Chernev's Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played on Kindle is $16.99. Scid vs PC is free and the PGN for Chernev's book is free. $16.99 is not bad for hours of learning.

You do not need to spend one half penny to use Chess.com, I do as I use a lot of the extra features and goodies. I really get my moneys worth. Things need paying for hence the site has to make income. Developers, servers, all kinds of investments. I feel on balance Chess.com suits me best.

Good luck in your chess journey.

I have spent lot of money here and there on chess. I also tried my hands on pirated chess books. I don't know whether for the books or the piracy i didn't improve

The OP's statistics:

Puzzles 4
Lessons 4

In 5 months...

Well.. Try lichess.

i recommend eating up free youtube content and using lichess