You're Switching from 17hats. Here's Why Photographers Choose Nexa.
17hats
$30/mo
$360/year — every year, forever
Nexa
$279
Once. Own it forever.
or 3 payments of $99
Break even in 9.3 months. Then it's free forever.
"Switched from 17hats after the last price increase. Nexa does everything I needed for $279. Wish I'd done it sooner."
— Verified photographer, former 17hats customer
The Bottom Line
Photographers on 17hats pay $30/month — $360/year. Over three years, that's $1,208. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 9.3 months. The median photographer earns $42,000/year, so 17hats's annual cost is roughly 0.9% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
Key Numbers
$42,000
Median photographer income
4.2%
Typical SaaS spend as % of revenue
9.3 mo
Break-even vs 17hats
$929
3-year savings switching to Nexa
What 17hats Is Costing You
The Damage
17hats monthly$30/mo
Annual drain$360/yr
Year 2 (11.4% SaaS inflation)$401
Year 3$447
3-year total$1,208
That's $1,208 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
Your 17hats subscription has cost you $0.00 since you opened this page.
Why Photographers Leave 17hats
✗Real cost often $80/mo with add-ons
✗Time tracking is a $5/mo add-on
✗Bank connect is $5/mo add-on
✗Each additional user is $5/mo
✗No Kanban boards or Gantt charts
✗QuickBooks sync reportedly has errors
✗Add-ons inflate the advertised price
✗UI not as modern as HoneyBook
✗Some workflows require learning curve
Photographers are leaving 17hats every week.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Why This Matters for Photographers
You just finished a 6-hour wedding. Tomorrow you have an engagement session at golden hour. You need to send contracts to two new leads, collect a deposit from a family portrait booking, and schedule delivery reminders for three galleries — all while editing 800 photos from last weekend. HoneyBook charges you $39/month and takes a payment processing fee on the $4,000 wedding package you just invoiced.
Photographers face unique challenges: HoneyBook takes a percentage of every contract payment on top of the monthly fee. Managing deposits, payment plans, and final balances across 15+ active clients. Contract management — sending, signing, tracking for every shoot. Tracking expenses across shoots (travel, second shooters, prints). Dubsado has a brutal learning curve that takes weeks to set up. On top of all that, 17hats charges $30/month ($360/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median photographer earns $42,000/year. Software at $360/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Camera bodies (Canon R5/R6, Sony A7IV, Nikon Z6 — $2,500+ each) is yours. You bought it once. Nexa works the same way — $279 once for invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, and full accounting. All connected. All offline-capable. You own it like you own your tools.
Your Full Stack Cost
17hats is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
Want this breakdown emailed to you?
Your exact 17hats cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
"I was paying 17hats $30/month and didn't question it until I did the math. $1,208 over 3 years for tools I don't even own. Nexa was $279. Once. Done."
— Photographer business owner
What You Get Instead
Feature
17hats
Nexa
Invoicing
✓
✓
Scheduling
✗
✓
CRM
✗
✓
Time Tracking
✗
✓
Full Accounting
✗
✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management
✗
✓
Price
$30/mo forever
$279 once or 3 × $99
3-Year Cost
$1,208
$279
Stop paying?
Lose everything
Keep everything forever
Switching Takes 1-2 Days
Most photographers are fully switched before the weekend.
1
Export your data
Go to Settings → Data Export. Download clients, invoices, expenses as CSV.
2
Set up Nexa
15-minute setup. Import your client list and data.
3
Parallel run
Run both for 1-2 weeks to verify everything transferred.
4
Cancel 17hats
Cancel subscription before next billing cycle.
✓ Run both in parallel. Cancel 17hats when you're confident. Zero risk.
What photographers actually deal with
HoneyBook takes a percentage of every contract payment on top of the monthly fee
Managing deposits, payment plans, and final balances across 15+ active clients
Contract management — sending, signing, tracking for every shoot
Tracking expenses across shoots (travel, second shooters, prints)
Dubsado has a brutal learning curve that takes weeks to set up
A day in the life of a photographer
You just finished a 6-hour wedding. Tomorrow you have an engagement session at golden hour. You need to send contracts to two new leads, collect a deposit from a family portrait booking, and schedule delivery reminders for three galleries — all while editing 800 photos from last weekend. HoneyBook charges you $39/month and takes a payment processing fee on the $4,000 wedding package you just invoiced.
The tools a working photographer actually owns
Camera bodies (Canon R5/R6, Sony A7IV, Nikon Z6 — $2,500+ each)
Lens collection ($1,000-$2,500 each)
Speedlights and studio strobes
Light stands, softboxes, modifiers
Memory cards and card readers
Editing workstation with calibrated monitor
Camera bags and hard cases
Why photographers leave the big platforms
honeybook: $39/month plus they take a cut of every payment processed. On a $5,000 wedding, that's real money gone. And the templates look generic.
dubsado: Took me 40 hours to set up properly. Workflows are powerful but the UI is confusing. Every update breaks something.
17hats: The interface feels like it hasn't been updated since 2017. Clunky, slow, and missing basic features other CRMs have.
Where photographers actually talk shop
r/photography (Reddit)
r/WeddingPhotography (Reddit)
r/photobusiness (Reddit)
r/AskPhotography (Reddit)
Fred Miranda Forums (Forum)
DPReview Community (Forum)
Peter McKinnon (YouTube)
Vanessa Joy (YouTube)
Local photographers on Nexa
Real photographers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee.
Are you a photographer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time.
Or browse every photographer on Nexa →
FAQ
Is Nexa really a 17hats replacement for photographers?
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. 17hats may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
$279 seems like a lot.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. 17hats is $30/month — that's $1,208 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes. Nexa is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.
What if I don't like it?
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Can I import my 17hats data?
Export your data from 17hats as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
Photographers in Portland
The average solo operator there spends about $2,688/year on software — and photographer face their own version of that math. ME state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Portland metro. Your situation will vary.
If You Need These — Nexa Has Them
Specific gaps Photographers run into with 17hats, and what Nexa does instead.
✗
17hats gapBasic scheduling (Calendly often used alongside)
✓
NexaBuilt-in scheduling and booking — no separate tier.
✗
17hats gapLimited reporting/analytics
✓
NexaP&L, balance sheet, and 21 reports — built in.
✗
17hats gapDesign feels dated vs competitors
✓
Nexa$279 once — not $69/month forever.
Where Photographers Talk Shop
If you want to compare notes or see how other photographers are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.
Peter McKinnon, Vanessa Joy, Taylor Jackson, Pat Kay
Podcasts
The Business of Photography, Bokeh Podcast, Six Figure Photography, The Photographer's Podcast
"17hats raised prices again and I was done. Found Nexa — $279 once. I own it. No more 'we're updating our pricing' emails. Best business decision this year."
— Photographer, switched from 17hats
Stop Losing $360/Year to 17hats
$1,208 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.