Quick poll: pros and cons vs the alternatives [v3]

For context, I am working with a pretty modest budget so high-end suggestions probably will not land.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, mods please remove if it is not. Not sure if this is the right place to ask, mods please remove if it is not. Been thinking about this for a while and curious what the community thinks.

There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019.