I'll let the experts answer , but my preference is to keep brick as brick , and tidy it or modernise it or distract the eyes or whatever you want to achieve , by concentrating on the details -- it can be the gardens and fences , painting the gutters a different colour , changing the front door ( or painting it a different colour ) , adding battens over a window , changing a plasterboard panel for real wood slats ( then staining ) , even things like the front fence .

If the brick is shocking , then sell haha .

Painting brick is definitely a more cost effective option if you don’t like the brick look, however if your going for a more modern look, render is the way to go. Perhaps most a picture of the exterior to see how it works with the rest of the house for advice.

Painting brick can look heaps better at fraction of cost of render.
Decision to paint/render depends on whether you like the bricks as is.
You can also bag and paint.