That's why I narrowed my choices to Leupold or Sig 1x5 with a red dot (they call it Fireplex or something like that). My thinking was it would be similar to a red dot on 1x or you could dial on a little magnification if wanted
I ended up with a Sig Whiskey 3 1x5 that I bought used with a Aero mount. Didn't hurt the price was very good.
I think those options are more than the OP wants to spend unless used.