Is there a better solution that doesn't cost and arm and a leg?
There’s a better solution but it doesn’t meet your cost requirement. It’s called a rock picker. You’d almost certainly need a larger tractor to run one. There are a few different varieties.
Example:
https://www.machinerypete.com/details/rock-pickers/2023/loftness/kwik-pik-720/20793125
Only reason for mentioning it is if you live in an agricultural area that’s prone to having rocks (like much of the upper Midwest US where they seem to surface due to freeze/thaw), there’s a really good chance pretty much every farmer that uses a combine also has a rock picker. If you’ve ever picked rocks with a combine you know why that big price tag on the rock picker looks very reasonable to a wheat/corn/bean farmer.
So, if you have some neighbors meeting that description it might be worth a phone call or two before planting season to see if one of them would stop by with their rock picker and knock it out for you for a reasonable cost.
They’re also made for skid steers. I’d be a bit surprised if you can rent one but it might be worth checking with equipment rental places in your area.
Otherwise you’d be raking them into small piles with a rake on your tractor and picking up the small piles with loader, rock bucket, etc. Still better than a pair of gloves and wheelbarrow.
