The least expensive telescope will be the Newtonian reflector kit. These kits are shipped disassembled, and the user must put them together with hand tools. Depending on the manufacturer, it may be possible to find an 80 mm refractor that is actually less expensive than the 6-inch reflector. Equatorial mounts for large, reflecting telescopes are expensive to make and to balance. They add a substantial cost to the overall price of the telescope.
Magnification is often one of the most touted features on a telescope.
However, it actually should never be considered without also considering the telescope aperture. It is theoretically possible to magnify beyond this limit, but the image becomes extremely dim. Thus, a 60-mm refractor may be theoretically capable of 300 x magnification, but the image quality would be terrible. Of these telescopes, the 8-inch reflecting telescope offers the greatest possible magnification. Its theoretical limit is 400 x magnification.