Nope not cheaper, however as others have said it's fun to produce.  You can make exactly what YOU like, and it's better quality.  

Not to mention the cool factor of making your own!  (Gives you a man card credit)

This.

It will actually be more expensive to home brew. It's fun though, even if the beer doesn't turn out great.

Here's an interesting twist:  yes, it's illegal to distill spirits but NOT illegal to actually have the equipment to do it .  Go figure.

Cite?

It is like any other hobby. You can make it very expensive or not.  When taking up golf you can get clubs form Walmart and play at the local municipal course or get the latest/best clubs join the country club ect. Same with brewing.  A lot also depends on what kind of beer you brew/drink.  It would be hard to break even brewing Bud or Natural Light but some high end IPA's ect it is possible. In addition, if you don't drink much beer it is going to take forever to recover brewing equipment costs. Having  said all that getting into brewing to save money is probably not a good idea.

So a slightly different answer (From someone who hasnt brewed yet!)

I dont see how it couldnt be cheaper. In Wa we have a steep tax on alcohol. Its 10 bucks a 6 pack for most everything. From extracts I think I'll be around a buck a bottle. Thats a 50 cent savings on every beer. 

So I've purchased the missing gear and hope to get it in the mail today. We shall see.....

Because equipment costs a lot and homebrew from extract is not going to be comparable quality to commercial brews.
Here are my recent homebrewing/mead purchases:
Stir Plate: $60
2L Pyrex flask: $20
"Wine whip": $17
7gal SS fermenter: $200

Before that:
10 gallon pot and propane burner: $130

And BTW, Washington's tax on beer is $0.26/gallon.  So for a 6-pack that is exactly (6x12/128)*0.26 = $0.146  or less than a dime and a nickel.
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I just spent about $60 on 4 gallons of coconut porter. That's about  $8.43/6pack, not including bottles, caps, labels.

All it takes is wine/beer, or things to make a mash, i.e. corn meal, a pressure canner and some copper tubing. I have every one of those things. None are illegal.

IF I were going o distill however, I would never announce it.

Videos are on youtube, for those interested.

Well I promise you if you come live with it every day you wont care what they tell you the tax is, because overpriced is overpriced!

As for home brew costs, so far I'm in it for 40 bucks in equipment. I used the equipment page listed here

Most of the stuff I already had. I had to pick up a fermenter, airlock and bottle brush and will be buying bottle caps and a capper soon. So $50 thus far, and I'll also need some sanitizer. 

I figure less than $75 for equipment. The extract kits ring up at around 30 bucks depending. So figure 75 in equipment, 30 for a kit and thats 105. 48 bottles of beer rings in at 2.18, or just over $13 for a 6 pack including the equipment.

Leaving off the equipment puts it at 30 for the kit which is 0.62 cents per bottle plus the cap. Lets call it 65 cents. Or just under 4 a 6 pack. Compare to a very consistent 10 at the store....

Yes, I'll happily save $6 per 6 pack....Or, if its anything like reloading, just drink twice as much. 

No doubt if I do end up liking the hobby I expect I'll add more equipment, but thats a labor of love. Theres no way I can see spending more on home brewing than I do at the store. If you are blessed enough to live where a good 6 pack is 5.99 then you got lucky. The beer I like most I cant even find around here and when I could find it (In Cali) if was about $6 per bottle. 

You will never make beer cheaper than loss leader sale priced 30 boxes.  

Brewing is fun.  I have all the equipment and hope to get back into it soon.