Turns out I don't really have a choice to stay with the 16F18877:

- 16F1937 has TTL General Purpose pins.
- 16F18877 has TTL and ST General Purpose pins.

74HC14 only costs $0.09 at JLCPCB, but there's other costs associated with assembly, as well as lost real-estate on the PCB:
https://jlcpcb.com/parts/componentSe...archTxt=C97666