Before you decide anything, find out whether you can borrow one. This is the answer for most people with one or two hives and it barely gets mentioned.
Local beekeeping associations very commonly own an extractor and lend it to members, sometimes with a shared room set up for it. Some charge a small fee, some are free with membership, and membership is usually cheap enough to be worth it for the other reasons anyway.
Why it is worth asking even if you were happy to crush:
- You keep the comb, so the question disappears rather than being traded away
- Extractors are much easier with two people, and a shared setup usually comes with someone who has done it before
- You find out whether you even like the process before spending anything
The practical catch is timing. Everyone wants it in the same three weeks, so book early and be flexible.
If there is no association nearby, ask any beekeeper within reasonable driving distance. Most people with a few hives own one, use it for an afternoon a year, and are entirely willing to lend it — particularly to somebody who turns up with their own frames and takes them away again.
Buying is what you do at the point where borrowing has become annoying, which for most hobbyists is somewhere above three or four hives.