Questions like these are corrosive. There really isn't an answer. But I will offer an opinion.
You said beach. I assume you mean salt water. That knocks quite a few out of contention right away.
You mention decent price. That knocks the list down really fast to a few.
A cheap salt water detector that is waterproof.......
An Equinox 600! Get a used one for around 400.00
It is great in the wet sand.
It can handle water to over your head.
It is fairly deep and sensitive to small gold.
Learning how to get the best out of it is covered in this forum in thousands of posts.