There are many aspects that need to be considered when looking for cheap turf, whether you are buying it online or from a local supplier. You will need to take into account a number of variables that can fulfill your needs while gauging the attendant costs and efforts involved. The canny consumer needs to do a bit of due diligence and homework in order to get exactly what they need for the best amount of money spent. 
The first consideration is what the turf is going to be used for. A sporting lawn is going to have different requirements than a lawn in front of a house. A lawn that is needed more for appearances than use will have to be judged by a much different criteria. There is also the maintenance factor. The sporting lawn, while larger than an average front or back yard, should require minimal care, but should be tough enough to handle rougher usage.
There are two basic types of turf that can be purchased. First is the meadow turf. Meadow turf is typically taken from grasslands, which means it can be composed of any number of grass types in its composition. The big drawback to this is that it can also contain any number of weeds, which can make maintenance an issue. You might initially have a great looking lawn that down the road requires much more tending that negates any savings. The second type of turf commonly sold is commercially grown turf. This sod is grown under specific conditions that ensure a certain type or types of grasses. You will not have to worry the weed factor as much, which can cut down your maintenance costs in the future.
The next factor to be considered is the climate in which the sod will be living and the climate from which it came. A commercially grown turf might look great and thrive where it is grown, yet withers and dies when subjected to even a minimally different climate. The turf farm might have access to cheap sources of water allowing it to appear lush and vibrant, but with droughts and water rationing in some states, the same lawn could end up costing much more in watering cost. There are a number of commercial turfs that are rather inexpensive when bought online, but the consumer needs to know what kind of conditions it was grown in to make an informed decision.
The next consideration, which ties in to the quality of grass is what kind of soil the sod was grown in and what kind of soil it will be transplanted into. The consumer needs to get at least three reliable opinions on the compatibility of the turf to the soil. Sod suppliers and lawn care experts will be the professionals to go to when researching this issue. Turf grown in sandy soil might not thrive as well in a soil made mostly of clay or land with high rock content. Cheap turf sold online might be a bit more of a challenge than locally purchased grass, so care must be taken to ensure that the two soils are compatible with each other. The best suppliers will offer some type of guarantee for both weed-free turf and compatible sod for your soil, so make sure that you get this in writing before you purchase the sod.
A commercially grown turf, versus a meadow variety, will give you more of an idea about what the down the line costs are going to be for your lawn. Water consumption, cutting time and average growth rates should all be included in the estimate given you. Meadow turf might work fine for a large expanse that is little used and it requires average care. Commercial turf however will have a better texture that will make your lawn look dense and uniform. The best turfs will be durable ryegrass, smooth meadow grass, and an assortment of fescue grasses with various properties.
Cheap turf will cost more than seeding the ground, but you can save as much as 6 months on site preparation. You will still need to use herbicide, then wait two weeks and apply fertilizer and the sod. With proper care, you should have a picture-ready lawn just a few weeks after laying the sod. The turf, both meadow and commercial, generally comes in manageable rolls that can be put down by the average person. Make sure to firmly place each roll as close to the others as you can as this will speed up the time in which the lawn will look uniform.
The cost of your lawn will depend greatly on how much time you wish to invest in it down the road. Spending more up front will save you money long-term, but if you have the time and inclination, a cheaper sod might be the best way for you to go.