Have you checked Walmart (in person)? I was blown away by their pricing. I am a reluctant fan of Walmart, I am constantly finding they are priced lower than almost anyone else.

I did check Walmart, and, at least where I live, the terracotta remained extremely expensive. I was just at my local garden/hardware and it was literally $40 each for the same 5-gal terracotta, made by a different brand of course.

Walmart was great for DIY plastic containers, but not terracotta, IME. And plastice does not quite cut it in the heat of summer, where I live.

Do you have any mom and pop garden centers in your area? I used to work at one in the 80's. Those prices seem awfully high!

There are different manufacturing processes for terracotta pots. The method used is the primary factor in the cost. This link has a good explanation. The good news is that even the cheapies can last for years if properly maintained.

No ideas where you might want to shop, but at least you can know more about determining if you're getting what you pay for.

Walmart has cheap pots seasonally! I still haven't figured out the pattern because I am not container gardening but anyway.

Try thrift stores that sell household goods and not just clothes. With patience and several trips to my local thrift stores, I've found a good number of terracotta pots.

Terrachi Clay provides cheap terracotta pots at wholesale prices. You might want to have a look at them.

I scored some on CL with someone cleaning out their shed. Another unusual place I picked some up, was Michael's Arts and Crafts. Michael's weren't huge, but very reasonably priced. I used the smaller ones for growing indoors because they dry out faster.