After you have tried fresh roasted coffee, you will never go back to the store-bought.
As for cost, it will be a bit cheaper to roast your own. Especially if you live in a place where you can purchase green coffee beans. I have to purchase mine off ebay or from an internet coffee store, so shipping is always a factor.
However, I have been purchasing, for around $6.00 per pound, some fantastic green coffee beans (Columbian, etc). For about $12.00 per pound you can get Kona coffee from Hawaii: excellent. You tend to get more bang for your buck from fresh roasted coffee. Also, green coffee beans keep for several years. I tend to roast every two weeks, and keep the roasted beans in air tight containers until I am ready to grind and brew. I do recommend getting a grinder, and using a French press.
Like I said, I use a hot air popcorn popper. It does have to be the kind that has the heating vents in the sides of the tube (not on the very bottom). You will want to do your roasting outside, since the beans begin smoking.
An excellent website to read about roasting your own coffee is sweetmarias.com, which is where I was directed when I became interested in roasting my own. She has a section about popcorn poppers. Also very interesting to read about all the different kind of coffee beans available.
Any other comments or questions let me know.
And does it come out cheaper?
