I bought a Zapos ZA-E200L in South-Africa for $65 [0]

It was configured with a fixed IP/subnet/gateway and no DHCP, which took an hour or two to debug and reconfigure. Been a dream since then: prints really fast and cuts properly. OP's project works well to print todo's.

[0] https://alcell.co.za/product/zapos-za-e200l-thermal-receipt-...

I recently got the YHD-8390 on Aliexpress for around 100$, works pretty well. Connects by Ethernet, USB and Wifi. Having plenty of fun with it.

I got an Epson TM-T88IIIP for about 40 bucks used. The whole line seems to have decent Linux drivers

For labels I use Phomomo. Quite cheap. I wrote some python code to drive it.

I like my Rongta POS Printer, under $100