Any of them are going to be a PITA to program without the programming cable. The UV5R is cheap, so if you don't like it or break it, you're not out much.
These links are not a suggested source of supply, just examples:
https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-5R-136-174-400-480Mhz-1800mAh/dp/B074XPB313 https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-Programming-Cable-BAOFENG-BF-888S/dp/B00CP0I474/
CHIRP is freeware.
https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home
I think it goes without saying these are license-required radios if you want to transmit.
I dont expect you to explain it here but I have no idea what to do with the cable.
The cable is a serial data transfer cable. There are a set of jacks on the side of the radio that you plug it into, the other end is USB. The cable allows a piece of programming software like CHIRP to talk to the radio and set it up without going through the arcane interface Baofeng uses. Essentially, you tell it what frequencies and stuff you want, the software does the calculation magic and programs the radio.
CHIRP will program most modern radios that have a data port, as long as you have the correct cable. I believe the Baofeng cables are a "Kenwood" style cable, but I may be wrong.
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