No they are not expensive. Next to finches their probably the least expensive bird to take care of. That's why most people buy them as a first bird for their children. Their cost and feed is very minimal. The most expense you would have would be in the cage you choose to buy, and the toys you want for your pet. And here's a tip, Petco has a small wire mesh pet wheel (about $5.00) that all of my small birds love. They will play on it for hours. But make sure it's the wire mesh because they slip and slid on the plastic ones and could get hurt. Good luck.

I raise several kinds of birds.

It depends what you call expensive they are fairly easy birds to keep you can find books that can give you a good explanation on Budgies and how to care for them. Most of the expenses in long run becomes upgrades and thing you prefer

no and they are very nice birds to have.