When shopping for a telescope on a budget, there's an argument to be made for choosing a smaller refractor over a similarly priced but larger reflector. This is because the secondary mirrors and struts in Newtonian reflectors can distort the incoming light, reducing image contrast.
For many dedicated planetary observers, a large refractor is the ideal telescope. However, refractors can be bulky, heavy, and expensive. Compound telescopes, such as Maksutov-Cassegrains and Schmidt-Cassegrains, offer a good compromise, providing good image quality in a relatively compact and affordable package.