We just used limestone, but that was pricy too. How about pavers? Pavers are probably a bit more than cement, but are durable and look much nicer. I also used pavers recently and chose the Belgard brand.

Our terrace is brick. In our neck of the woods, it is probably cheaper than stone.

2K isn't really a big upcharge for stone over concrete as long as it's stone mortared over a concrete base. It's a bargain, in fact.

Sounds like a bargain to me too - particularly bluestone which is more expensive in the south than flagstone by quite a bit. Brick is cheaper than both. We did bluestone on the front and brick on the back terrace and the brick turned out fantastic. I may like it better than the bluestone ;)

What about stamped concrete?
Is that any cost savings to be had there while still getting visual bang?

We just had the same dilemma, except our upcharge was more than yours. We went with stained concrete and then had them cut the stress lines in as a diamond pattern. I am so happy with it - it's concrete but it really doesn't give that off at all. I'm surprised how pleased I am with it! I was expecting to be kind of ho hum about it hah.