Didn’t we do this same subject in the past month? Your current chimney probably can’t handle a wood burning fireplace with an insert. What kind of chimney is there now? Is it a stove pipe chimney going up through the room or out through a wall? If that isn’t sufficient it can still be upgraded with a wider pipe and would cost much less than having a masonry chimney constructed.
It is certainly less expensive and less effort to install a wood stove than a new wood burning fireplace, especially if you are only going to put an insert in the fireplace anyway and not use it for open fires.
ETA: Here’s one of the recent threads. There are several more.