https://medium.com/elementaryos/what-is-hidpi-and-why-does-it-matter-b024eabea20d

Relevant part , under “Retina” section:

As a general guide: Quad HD or 1440p (2560×1440) is the same real estate as 720p, but at 2×; 4K (3840×2160) is like 1080p at 2×; 5K (5120×2880) is like 1440p at 2×; UHD is not consistent at all — divide the device’s resolution by two to get the real estate.

1080p actually needs 4K equulvant pixels for macOS, unless you want the blurry version

There’s one piece of the puzzle missing no one is mentioning.

You won’t be able to to reach 1080p@60hz unless the monitor+cable+hub supports 4K@60hz . Only then, if then, you can click “Show all resolutions” holding alt and you’ll be able to see something like “1080p with scaling”. Because retina.

That’s why you were able to select 1080p 60hz and everything looked blurry. That’s just how macOS is at a lower resolution (downscaled)

And then, you’ll be able to change the text scaling etc. I think the most comfortable you’ll be with is 1440p and text scaling on the second level, otherwise things look too zoomed in (that’s what I use, with a cheap cable and a 25$ dollar hub from aliexpress that DOES support 4k@60hz - so: MacBook -> cheap hub+4k@60hz support -> hdmi cable that came with the monitor.

Sorry, I don’t have my laptop around to test. But there’s somewhere you can press while holding alt that will show all available resolution options (+ the show all resolutions toggle). Holding alt + click is generally macOS’ “show me advanced options” toggle