A DRO has two advantages, at least for me:
(1) It saves counting turns. This is especially nice with Chinese tools that have metric leadscrews and pseudo-inch calibrations on the dials, or else 1/16" pitch leadscrews. It's always a challenge to convert an inch measurement to turns in these circumstances. Yes, it can be done. But when I'm machining, I want to use the limited bandwidth of my aging brain to decide on details other than keeping track of turns.
(2) It lets you know where you are (OK ... where the tool is) regardless of backlash. You don't have to keep track of which way you last turned the crank. Think of using an edge finder to find the center of a part, where you have to approach opposite faces from opposite directions. Again, it can be done. But to do a good job, you have to know the amount of backlash to a gnat's eyelash. Very easy to make a mistake.
YMMV