I've never done a cost-equivalence comparison, but I agree that DiChlor DOES have its place. However, I suspect it will turn out to cost more than bleach.

I'm still using up the DiChlor I bought a few years ago, but I ONLY use when my CYA is low and I want to raise it--I also make sure my pH is high before I use the DiChlor.

I especially like to use it in the spring at opening as my CYA has usually (like a lot of folks) fallen off over the winter.

But once CYA is where I want it, I'm done with Di-Chlor, unless it's an emergency and I'm low on bleach.

I have also found it VERY interesting that DiChlor, while it adds CYA, doesn't seem to add nearly as much as Tri-Chlor tabs do.