Soilarch, it kind of depends on what design you like. Some longbow designs can keep up with recurve designs due to their design while others may be a littler slower. A shorter recurve will have better cast at a particular draw because the limbs are flexed more. However, you can have too long a draw and get finger pinch or pull the limbs so far they start stacking. There isn't really a more expensive or cheaper as far as recurves and longbows that I'm aware of. Chek-Mate has some cheaper recurves, and there are other companies that have reasonably priced recurves and longbows. Some are just plain expensive. If you're just starting find a used bow that's cheaper so you can try it out. With sites like ebay and
www.women-outdoors.com/traditional it makes it easy to find a used bow for cheap to try out. You can also look up a shoot in your area with a lot of bowyers and try out their bows. You may also have a club in your area where people may let you shoot their bows. Also, people generally prefer one type of bow over another, and it doesn't have anything to do with the bow, it's just the person's preference. So always take someone's critique on a particular design or particular bow with a grain of salt 'cause people have biases that have nothing to do with the bow, just a matter of preference. For me I'm rather fond of r/d longbows, however, I don't care too much for hill style bows. Others would rather shoot a hill style bow over an r/d longbow. Some rather shoot a recurve over a longbow, and some longbow shooters won't touch a recurve. So take critques for what they are-one person's opinion. Not that opinions can't be helpful, but don't let them trumph your own experience and preference. You'll also want to start with a light pound bow like forty or forty five pounds so you can build form and get into good shooting habits. So start light with used bows and build up to heavier weights as you find out which type of bows you like.
Brandan