It definitely is helpful to have one, but you do not NEED one. Freshly prepared pasta has to be quickly laid out or better still hung to dry the moment it is cut. Many people use a drying rack and some of them are pretty cheap. But, you can improvise and use what you already have at home. The first time I made pasta, I laid it out on some cheese cloth. A friend uses clothes hangars. Get innovative and think outside the box and you won’t need a drying rack at all.