Expensive?
I wasn't familiar with the current situation until last year when my adult daughter decided to buy a road bike. What I found is that it's actually cheaper and easier to go to a local bike shop and buy clipless pedals than it is to even find a good quality ordinary pedal (other than cheap mountain bike pedals). Good so-called platform pedals are more of an internet-based item, and by the time you get a pair home, they aren't that cheap.
Of course, with clipless, the shoes do add to the cost, but then, once you have them, you do end up with better shoes for cycling than civilians shoes.