No. Zebra finches sit at the affordable end of bird keeping, and it is not close. They are small, hardy and undemanding compared with any parrot, and the finches themselves usually cost less than the cage they live in. The honest answer has two parts, though: the purchase price is low, and the setup still deserves real money in one or two places, because a cheap cage that is too small is the one false economy that makes finches miserable.
Where the money goes at the start
The flight cage is the main event. Zebra finches fly horizontally, darting from end to end rather than climbing, so width matters far more than height — look for a cage around thirty inches wide or more for a pair, with narrow bar spacing their heads cannot fit through. Budget for that cage first and the birds second. Add two or three natural perches of different thicknesses, a cuttlebone holder, sturdy seed and water cups, and a shallow bath dish, because finches love bathing and will do it daily if they can. None of this is exotic equipment, but buying the cage properly once is cheaper than replacing an undersized one within the year.
The small weekly running costs
Day to day, a pair of finches eats very little. A good-quality finch seed mix forms the base, ideally alongside a small amount of crumbled pellet, and a bag lasts a pair a long time. Fresh food adds pennies rather than pounds: a leaf of spinach or a little grated carrot, egg food during breeding or moulting, and a spray of millet as a treat. Cuttlebone and a mineral block cover calcium and beak wear. Cage liners or paper for the tray, replaced perches as they foul, and a new swing or toy now and then round out the list. There are no grooming bills, no licences, and no specialist lighting requirements for an indoor finch.
The costs people forget to count
Two things catch new owners out. The first is company: zebra finches are flock birds and a single finch is a stressed finch, so the real starting point is a pair — two birds, and a cage sized for two. The second is veterinary care. Finches are small enough that many owners assume a vet visit is pointless, but an avian vet can treat egg binding, respiratory infections and mite problems, and a check when you first bring birds home catches issues early. Set a little aside for that rather than being surprised by it. Finally, count the years rather than the money: a well-kept zebra finch commonly lives five to nine years, so the commitment is a long one even though each year of it is cheap.
A fair verdict
If your budget rules out a parrot's decades of large food bills and big-cage costs, zebra finches are one of the most wallet-friendly ways to keep birds — provided the flight cage is bought properly and the pair is never split into a lonely single. When your finches are rehomed to you from a breeder or another keeper, KinsLe's Transferrable Profiles hand you their feeding history and known routines along with the birds, so their care continues without a guessing period.