You're Switching from FreshBooks.
Here's Why Illustrators Choose Nexa.

FreshBooks
$33/mo
$396/year — every year, forever
Nexa
$279
Once. Own it forever.
or 3 payments of $99
Break even in 8.5 months. Then it's free forever.
"Switched from FreshBooks after the last price increase. Nexa does everything I needed for $279. Wish I'd done it sooner."
— Verified illustrator, former FreshBooks customer

The Bottom Line

Illustrators on FreshBooks pay $33/month — $396/year. Over three years, that's $1,329. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 8.5 months. The median illustrator earns $42,000/year, so FreshBooks's annual cost is roughly 0.9% of typical revenue — every year, forever.

Key Numbers

$42,000
Median illustrator income
2.8%
Typical SaaS spend as % of revenue
8.5 mo
Break-even vs FreshBooks
$1,050
3-year savings switching to Nexa

What FreshBooks Is Costing You

The Damage

FreshBooks monthly $33/mo
Annual drain $396/yr
Year 2 (11.4% SaaS inflation) $441
Year 3 $491
3-year total $1,329

That's $1,329 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.

Your FreshBooks subscription has cost you $0.00 since you opened this page.

Why Illustrators Leave FreshBooks

✗Client caps force upgrades ($5 to $50 clients is $20 jump)
✗Per-user pricing adds $132/year per team member
✗Loses all data access upon cancellation
✗Limited customization options
✗No bank reconciliation on Lite plan
✗When I canceled my FreshBooks subscription, I lost access to all my old invoices and customer data. It felt like canceli
✗Lite was useless after 2 months. Had to upgrade to Plus as soon as I crossed 5 clients.
Illustrators are leaving FreshBooks every week.

You're not the only one who's had enough.

Why This Matters for Illustrators

You're working on a children's book illustration — page 7 of 24. The author wants the dragon to look 'more friendly but still scary.' This is revision 3 on this page alone. Meanwhile a board game company needs character concept art by Friday and you haven't started sketching. Your Toggl timer has been running on the book project for 8 hours but you spent 2 of those hours on email and admin. FreshBooks wants $17/month to invoice two clients this month.

Illustrators face unique challenges: Pricing creative work — hourly vs per-piece vs licensing royalties. Tracking time on projects that involve research, sketching, and final rendering. Clients wanting unlimited revisions on commission work. Managing licensing agreements and usage rights across clients. On top of all that, FreshBooks charges $33/month ($396/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median illustrator earns $42,000/year. Software at $396/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.

Your Drawing tablet (Wacom Cintiq, iPad Pro with Apple Pencil) 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

FreshBooks is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?

Want this breakdown emailed to you?

Your exact FreshBooks cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.

"I was paying FreshBooks $33/month and didn't question it until I did the math. $1,329 over 3 years for tools I don't even own. Nexa was $279. Once. Done."
— Illustrator business owner

What You Get Instead

Feature FreshBooks Nexa
Invoicing ✓ ✓
Scheduling ✗ ✓
CRM ✗ ✓
Time Tracking ✗ ✓
Full Accounting ✗ ✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management ✗ ✓
Price $33/mo forever $279 once
or 3 × $99
3-Year Cost $1,329 $279
Stop paying? Lose everything Keep everything forever

Switching Takes 1-2 Days

Most illustrators are fully switched before the weekend.

1

Export your data

Go to Settings → Export Data. Download clients, invoices, expenses, and time entries.

2

Set up Nexa

15-minute setup. Import your client list and expense categories from CSV.

3

Parallel run

Run both for 1-2 weeks. Verify invoice history and recurring invoices.

4

Cancel FreshBooks

Cancel subscription. Download a final data export for your records.

✓ Run both in parallel. Cancel FreshBooks when you're confident. Zero risk.

What illustrators actually deal with

A day in the life of a illustrator

You're working on a children's book illustration — page 7 of 24. The author wants the dragon to look 'more friendly but still scary.' This is revision 3 on this page alone. Meanwhile a board game company needs character concept art by Friday and you haven't started sketching. Your Toggl timer has been running on the book project for 8 hours but you spent 2 of those hours on email and admin. FreshBooks wants $17/month to invoice two clients this month.

The tools a working illustrator actually owns

Why illustrators leave the big platforms

Where illustrators actually talk shop

Local illustrators on Nexa

Real illustrators near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you an illustrator? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every illustrator on Nexa →

FAQ

Is Nexa really a FreshBooks replacement for illustrators?

For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. FreshBooks 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. FreshBooks is $33/month — that's $1,329 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 FreshBooks data?

Export your data from FreshBooks as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.

Illustrators in Santa Ana

The average solo operator there spends about $3,072/year on software — and illustrator face their own version of that math. CA state licensing requirements apply.

Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Santa Ana metro. Your situation will vary.

If You Need These — Nexa Has Them

Specific gaps Illustrators run into with FreshBooks, and what Nexa does instead.

✗
FreshBooks gapLimited inventory management
✓
NexaInventory tracking included for product and service businesses.
✗
FreshBooks gapNo scheduling/booking
✓
NexaBuilt-in scheduling and booking — no separate tier.
✗
FreshBooks gapBasic reporting compared to QB
✓
NexaP&L, balance sheet, and 21 reports — built in.

Where Illustrators Talk Shop

If you want to compare notes or see how other illustrators are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.

Reddit
r/illustration, r/DigitalArt, r/artbusiness, r/freelance
Forums
ConceptArt.org, Muddy Colors Blog
YouTube
Jazza, Marco Bucci, Bobby Chiu, Trent Kaniuga
Podcasts
3 Point Perspective, The Illustration Department Podcast
"FreshBooks 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."
— Illustrator, switched from FreshBooks

Stop Losing $396/Year to FreshBooks

$1,329 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.

Get Nexa — $279 Once
or 3 payments of $99
✓ 30-day money-back guarantee — save $500 or full refund

Still want FreshBooks?

We think Nexa is the better deal at $279 once vs $33/mo. But if you've decided on FreshBooks, here's the link. No hard feelings.

FreshBooks — $33/mo →

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