at a premium vs expensive

at a premium

prep
  • At a high, or higher than expected, price. 

  • Scarce, in short supply. 

  • Above par value. 

expensive

adj
  • Having a high price or cost. 

  • Taking a lot of system time or resources. 

How often have the words at a premium and expensive occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )