Dev Board Pricing
The cluster focuses on debates about the high cost of a specific microcontroller development board, with users recommending and comparing cheaper alternatives like ESP8266, ESP32, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi Pico available for $2-5 from sites like Aliexpress.
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It's not hard to get an ESP8266 dev board for that much.
You're probably looking at dev boards, rather than the single chips, they're in the $2-3 range.
You might consider the HiFive board. It's around 50 dollar, a more appropriate price for something to play around with.
You can buy Arduinos on Aliexpress for USD1.80[1] and there are no comparable offers for ARM boards.[1] aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Nano-3-0-Controller-Board-Compatible-with-Arduino-Nano-CH340-USB-Driver/2021663360.html
This is $15 for an entire board, but it will probably take a bit of time to get volume pricing lower. For $15 it seems like a good deal for a development board and chip.
If you're willing to wait you can get an ESP8266 dev board such as the WeMos D1 mini from aliexpress for less than $2!
Seems expensive compared to the nearly identical Pi Pico W.
It sounds like it's actually a $40 microcontroller, then.
Try ESP32 for about $3, you will be amazed, it can even run a full PC emulator (thanks to FabGL and VGA32).
At $120 it's just not a very attractive price. You can get more powerful mini-pcs for $150, and microcontrollers with as many GPIOs for $5.