Hi, I had a similar experience with the aftermarket Xbox pad - just didn't work on anything.
Also like you, I don't like paying big prices for controllers I use only occasionally. In my experience, especially with m1 mac, 3rd party controllers are a bit of a lottery - and the very cheapest ones are often no good at all. Looking on amazon, I'd say up your budget to about $30
i hvent used it though. I have a giotech - which doesn't seem to be on the US amazon.