The "Sculpt Mode" in Blender has improved drastically. For many artists, it is now a viable alternative to ZBrush for high-poly sculpting.
In the flickering neon glow of the Cyber-District, sat hunched over a cracked tablet, his stylus hovering like a surgeon's scalpel. He was a digital sculptor, a dreamer of monsters and gods, but his tools were primitive. He spent his days kit-bashing in free software, always hitting the ceiling of what his "budget" tools could handle. zbrush cheap license
If you only need ZBrush for a specific project, the is the cheapest way to start without a huge upfront cost. Monthly: ~$39.00/month. Annual: ~$359.00/year (works out to ~$29.91/month). The "Sculpt Mode" in Blender has improved drastically