I've got several hosting packages at the moment:

I pay £29.99 for a business site that I host, and $6 a month for some other hosting.

.co.uk domains are around £6 for two years, .com domains are around £8 a year, and various other domains vary in price.

The hassle is worth it in the long run, depending on the type of site you're setting up of course!

The other option is something like mrsite, Make Your Own Website I think. This is a step between freewebs and the like, and designing a site yourself.

I still maintain that DIY is the best way, if you have the inclination/time to learn a bit of webdesign.