Not useless. I still use mine for vacations, can't be gone for 2 weeks and count on bleach that whole time, not by the jug anyway.
You could do a Liquidator, search for that on the forum, lots of info.
But, some of us do switch around. It just depends on recent tests, what is too high or too low. After a wet winter my CYA and CH is low so I use cal-hypo until vacation then use trichlor tablets in the feeder. Then I switch to bleach. Then one day, CYA is low again, back to tablets, but do mind the TA if it drops low. I test, so I know what can be used or not.
As for cost, I figure to be honest about it all, you have to admit that if you overuse tablets, then you have to drain and rebalance the water. Calcium by itself is expensive. So is the acid I need to get TA back in line. Your water may be different, so the cost and effort of draining may be more or less.
I don't think it is fair to say x$/ppm FC since some things like cal-hypo give me expensive calcium for free. Or they lower my TA for free, none of this nasty acid to haul around. You have to see all the parts. But, IIRC, on that narrow view of $/ppm, cal-hypo won, followed closely by bleach, Clorox, but GV might have won if I had considered that bleach, I did not. Last was tablets, in part because I think I added back on cost to dump water and add lost chemicals. And I buy everything in the largest sizes, 90 lb cal-hypo, 40 lb tablets, clorox at Sams.