In my experience so far, it's the cheaper option. Most roasteries I can find can apparently not be bothered to communicate their roast dates. I think I know of a few places where I would be able to know it, but those places will sell me beans at 20$ per pound and more if I take a smaller amount, which I have to, because I don't use it that fast. This all means expensive coffee that will stay in the cupboard or the hopper for up to 3 months, being really good mainly the first 2 weeks. Green beans I found are half the price, and I can roast whatever I need on a weekly basis. I assume you think it's expensive because you would need to buy a roaster, but really, I bought a metal sieve from the dollar store and got started earlier today. It helps that I like to mix dark roast with light roast, so inconsistencies in my process will lead to something similar anyway. For now, I actually tried a rather good cup and it cost me 25 CAD and 10 minutes.