There is another free hud,
Realtime HUD. It's made by one of the 2+2 members, mikechops (
post on 2+2). As a free alternative it's definitely worth looking into it - some even prefer it over Acehud.
Poker Tracker 3 and new acehud are coming out by the end of the year, so maybe you want to wait with buying that to avoid additional cost.