I find the NUC's way overpriced unless you really need a high end CPU. I love my H2s[0]- good mix of cpu, RAM, storage (m2 + sata), and low power usage. Plus, they run standard x86_64 Linux/windows. Tricked out with 16G RAM, and a couple of cheap SSDs mine came in at $250.
How fast does that setup run in practice? I have an odroid hc2 (which is a wholy different chipset than the h2plus, I know), and that's about as pokey as my pi4.
[0]https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-h2plus/