I spent over 25 years commuting by bike. My daily commute was about a 35-40 mile round trip. One thing I learned from it is that commuting is very hard duty for a bike. If you want your bike to be reliable it needs to be good quality. The less you spend initially, the more you will spend long term. Depending on the length of your commute, mileage builds up quickly. I don't think that a new $300 bike of any type will last you very long in daily use. I used to figure on spending about $200 or more on upkeep every year. I regularly wore out tires,chains, cassettes and brake pads. Bicycle commuting is inexpensive, but it isn't free