VScode is at least free as in beer (with VScodium being free-free, if a little less convenient to use). Lightroom is a paid program that requires getting into Adobe's whole subscription mess.
Darktable still has a GUI. It isn't nearly as barebones or discovery-hostile as vim (I love vim but there's a learning curve). I used darktable to touch up some photos, and was able to stumble through as a complete novice.
IMO a better comparison would be Blender vs <insert your favorite proprietary 3d modeling tool here>.
I use Darktable exclusively for all of my photographic work, and have for years. It continues to improve year after year and the backward compatibility has been wonderful; anything I edited in the earliest days with Darktable still renders the same today.
If you have to ask, the answer is no. Like learning VIM instead of using VSCode.