We get our checks free with our account, but they are not fancy or cute, and we get no interest on the money in the account as some checking accounts do. Since interest is so low for the past few years, it is cost effective to do it this way.
In the 1950s, my parents had to pay 10˘ a check for each one they wrote. Until 10 years ago, I bought the blank checks but didn't have to pay for using them. Now, it is as above.
We have a Money Market account that pays interest, I think all of 1.5 % now, and I can write up to 3 checks a month on it, but we rarely do that. The first 50 were free, so I don't know if we have to pay for those.
(All of this is in Illinois.)