[pwg]

Home Depot online listing: 36 pack Energizer Alkaline for 13.97.

That is $0.39 per battery.

Rechargeable: $3.24 per battery.

3.24 divided by 0.39 is 8.31.

At the ninth usage, the rechargeable battery becomes cheaper than the very cheap one use battery.

I have four Energizer NiMH AA's that have to be at least 4-5 years old now and have been recharged at least 50+ times by this point. Are they quite as "strong" as when they were new, no. Are they still doing very well, yes.

A lot of the bad experience from rechargeable comes from using the cheapo chargers that are sold in the stores alongside the batteries themselves. Plunk down the one time cost of $30-40 for a decent charger and the rechargeable batteries will reward you handsomely.