Few objects say "I am a serious bread person now" like a cane banneton with its spiral flour rings pressed into the loaf. It is a lovely object. It is also doing a job that a bowl and a tea towel do for nothing, and I think telling beginners they need one is a small, well-meaning lie that swaps learning for shopping.
What a banneton is actually for
It holds the shape of a wet dough during its final proof and wicks a little moisture from the surface so the crust sets up better. That is genuinely useful for high-hydration doughs that would otherwise spread into a puddle. But "hold the shape and wick a little moisture" is not a magic property of cane — it is a property of any supportive container lined with a floured cloth. A mixing bowl with a well-floured tea towel does the same two jobs.
Why the basket gets bought first
Because it is the most visible, most giftable, most photogenable item in the whole hobby, and because the loaf comes out wearing its decoration. A well-handled dough in a tea-towel-lined bowl makes bread just as good, but it does not come out with a maker's mark on it, so it does not feel like progress in the same way. That is an aesthetic preference dressed up as a technical need.
What to spend the money on instead
If you have a beginner's budget and you want the loaf to actually improve, a scale to weigh your flour and water, a bench scraper to handle sticky dough, and a heavy lidded pot to trap steam will each do more for the bread than the basket will. Buy the basket when you want a basket. Do not buy it expecting it to teach you anything — that part is on you and your hands, and it is free.