Aren't Tasers and contact stun-guns the same (minus the obvious differences)? Why the huge cost difference?

Through a series of "Related Videos", starting from I believe a Hickok vid, I wound up finding a series of clips talking about non-lethal defensive options.One such video, talking about stun guns, claims the a Taser is superior to a contact stun gun in ways beyond just the obvious.Obviously a Taser allows you to incapacitate an assailant at a distance, about the same range as pepper spray. Whereas a stun gun only works at arm's reach. In that regard, given the choice, you'd obviously prefer a Taser- keep the threat as far away as possible.But there were some other claims that don't quite make sense to me. Essentially saying that a stun gun just causes pain, whereas a Taser overrides the nervous system and prevents voluntary muscle control.But shouldn't they both do the latter. From what I understand of the electronics, they both pretty much function the same- a low DC voltage is converted to a very high AC voltage and current-limiting circuitry keeps the output at a non-lethal level. The only difference is that a stun gun has electrodes that must be pushed into a person's body, whereas the Taser will fire its electrodes out to 20ft or so.So why is a contact stun gun $20 and a Taser is ~$300 for the C2 and over $700 for the X26? Electronically, they should be more or less identical and some pointy probes, thin gauge wire and compressed nitrogen aren't all that expensive?Is there something different in a Taser that causes it to operate differently (and is somehow way more expensive to produce)? via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/1Y5qbns