As said above, all depends on what your expecting to do...

To set a bevel from a damaged blade, you'll need 1k, or weeks of honing on a finer stone...

To finish, some seem to be ok with 6000 then pastes...

I personally finish on a coticule with water (approx 8k), then linen and then leather, i find it's right.

The positive point with a coticule is that with slurry, it has a progressive grit, that can start frome about 3000 with slurry, to reach 8000 with water, but dilution is less easy than using several stones... but with practice, it gets right.

IMO, I think a standard belgian yellow coticule can be enought for honing a non damaged blade or do maintenance with only one stone, it's a little linger than with several stone, but cheaper (you don't need a big one, somethin approx 6"*1" to 1,25" can be right (15cm*3cm). (approx 50€/something like 65 $) You can then get a coarser stone (1k) to start the job when setting the bevel is required.

Edit : and don't watch to find cheap cheap stuff : as said above, you may need to buy again after, you'll then lost money...

And remeber : if you buy a good stone or 2, they will last you years and years, not to say a lifetime...