yeah, it can get really crazy. I have gotten diapers from people on diaperswappers forum before, which you might want to check out.
or try to attend a local LLL meeting and ask around (la leche league) or other breastfeeding support group, because in my experience, many moms there will also be doing cloth. or an attachment parenting group, or babywearing group. get on those groups local yahoo lists and ask. ask around, ask on fb, etc, someone you know may be ready to sell or give away their stash. (not stache! :)
we tried many kinds and styles and brands. its so variable. size of baby/child, type of wetter the child is (super soaker? pees often?)
just in case you dont already know about EC (elimination communication) you may want to check that out too. saves even more diapers! :) I did a lot of EC with my second, and it was great.
really, prefolds are by far the least expensive option, they do the job, and afterwards, you have cleaning rags, bed pads, etc. I kept a bunch of prefolds and they get a lot of use wiping up spills :)