Tina;

I'm guessing your concern isn't expensive chemicals exactly, but rather the over all cost of operating a pool?

That's an important distinction, because I can run a pool MUCH more cheaply, using "expensive chemicals" than most pool owners can using "cheap chemicals". In other words, how, and what, you do in managing your pool matters more than the cost of chemicals per pound.

Also, some things, like cleaning up a slimy pool are expensive no matter how you do it, unless you can drain and refill cheaply.