Do I really need an expensive cast iron skillet, or is a cheap one fine?

The strongest consensus signal in our data comes from Serious Eats (high trust), which names an inexpensive Lodge skillet as the best cast iron pan overall, noting it sears deeply and costs around $20-$30. Specialist r/castiron threads repeatedly echo that a $250 pan is 'slightly better, not 10x better.' Premium smooth pans (Stargazer) and enameled pans (Staub, Le Creuset) earn their price on surface smoothness, looks, and acid-cooking convenience rather than core searing performance.