I help operate a fly shop and have access to fly lines from the $12 Cortland Silverstream to the SA Sharkskin.
For the most part, the more you pay for a line the better it will perform. More expensive lines usually float better, shoot better, and are more durable. Many of the high end floating lines now have tip sections which float much better than less expensive lines.
For many anglers the performance benefits of an expensive line may never come into play. For someone who mostly fishes at close range and rarely shoots much line those slick coatings or bumpy surfaces on an expensive line may not be of much benefit.
The higher cost lines and specialty lines like SA Streamer Express or Rio Outbound often cost more to manufacture hence the increased cost.
It's up to each angler to decide what suits their need best. For many a low to mid price line is just fine.
I have access to just about any line I want. For a lot of may bass and panfish angling I use SA Air Cel floating and Cortland 333 sink tips. However after a couple of seasons those Air Cel lines are now behave like intermediate lines I typically use mid price lines like the Cortland 444 Classic in moving water because they float better than the less expensive lines. And I use expensive specialty lines when most appropriate for some types of angling scenarios like casting giant topwater flies to stripers or for saltwater fishing.
Most of the floating lines we sell in the shop range from about $35 to $50 with some lower and some higher priced lines.
Cheap lines in ultra light weights are pretty rare. Sales volume is small compared to 4 through 8 wt lines and manufacturers don't make them in their budget line ups. So yo need to find discounted discontinued lines.
Manufacturers charge $80-$100 for lines because people pay for them. If people stopped buying the demand would be gone and they will stop making them.
I also fish spinning, baitcasting, and conventional saltwater gear and I have found that even $80 flylines are less costly over time than changing out the mono that I spool those reels with. Good fly lines last years but I need to change out mOno several times a year and on some saltwater gear after each trip and sometimes during a trip on tuna outings.
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