I get budget, I'm not afraid to say I'm a cheap SOB, If I don't have to spend money I won't; that is how my "mean teen" came to being........
If I had a choice between plate hone and balance, I would balance..........people were going fast before plate honing came to be; balancing makes life easier on the bearings
If you are of a mind to, you could balance your assembly yourself........the cost of balancing is mostly; other than mallory IF YOU GO THAT ROUTE; the labor to equalize the weight of all the pieces. With a digital kitchen scale that reads to .1gram, you can equalize your rods and pistons, then give the shop the bob weight number and your crank, damper, flex plate and they can balance your crank
Good luck
