Hello and welcome!
I was looking at a new pellet smoker a couple of years ago. I opted for the Yoder 640 which I believe is in your price range. I had looked at several of the other brands, but honestly none of them offered everything that I had on my wish list. I was kind of surprised at that, but at the time I couldn't find one that offered pellet drop feed, wifi controller, stainless steel, USA made, and company reputation/longevity in the market. The last item on my list was very important to me because I was getting rid of a great pellet grill because it was made by a company that was new to the pellet grill market that unfortunately for me (and a few others on this forum) went out of business.
I ultimately chose the Yoder because it met most of my considerations. It isn't stainless steel, but it is heavy duty steel. It's been a great machine and I have had to perform minimal maintenance. Just vacuuming out the ashes every one or two cooks depending on my amount of laziness, and then I clean and scrape off the grease tray when it really looks like I really needed to do it a month ago.