Understand, but ... all technology/apps must sooner or later move forward. A response for advice on 'best option' could be lengthy and off target IF your entity ... has no internal IT, has no $'s, has no and on and on etc..
Basically, from a technical side of things, 2.x does more ... requires more thus server needs to have more - memory, CPU's, etc.. Each of those versions listed does have a link to requirements. No way around it, the 'shopper' has to read! You do want something that is supported, however, so anything that is not ... discard from your list.
Depending upon the size of your site (how many courses/teachers/students, etc.) one could find 'cheap' Moodle hosting ... SiteGround, for example, offers $4.95 a month ... or used to. BUT, if your site has many users and is used daily it may not be the best option for you. It's true what they say ... 'you get what you pay for'!
Maybe some others can jump in here with their take on hosting, etc..
'spirit of sharing', Ken