If they're old chips that can go in a socket, like for a retro hardware project, then you can just buy them loose and plug them into a programmer or wire up a JTAG dongle when the time comes. For SMT stuff that is newer (but not cutting edge) then the cheapest option is probably one of the many Chinese dev boards. A lot of the development software requires licensing so you'll want to look into that before deciding on a product line.