system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are 'off brand' batteries so much cheaper than on brand? They seem to be about 1/10 the price.

Is the quality difference really that much?
gpt
Take a closer look at the cheaper batteries, they usually use a different chemistry. "Heavy Duty" batteries perform worse than Alkaline, and don't last as long, but they are cheaper to produce. Store brand Alkalines will be cheaper than Duracells/Energizers, but still competitively priced. Heavy Duty batteries are the ones that are significantly cheaper.

Heavy Duty batteries are good for low use things like smoke detectors and TV remotes, but are a waste of money in higher drain applications like cameras, radios, etc.