Generally, you get what you pay for.
Of course it depends on what you want, if you are OK with a rough and ready toothy edge for your slicing then a cheap stone will do it for you in a jiffy.
If you are aiming for hair shaving sharp or reshaping profiles on seriously hard modern steel then you are probably going to need to spend more.
Kitchen knives are often softer steel and designed to take an edge easily and quickly, the downside is that they are used cutting on unsuitable surfaces and tumbled with the rest of the cutlery at the bottom of the sink and take minor damage easily (which again is easily fixed).