Art Directors on HoneyBook pay $39/month — $468/year. Over three years, that's $1,570. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 7.2 months. The median Art Director earns $45,000/year, so HoneyBook's annual cost is roughly 1.0% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
That's $1,570 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Art Directors face unique challenges: Holding one visual direction across many deliverables and freelancers — photographer, retoucher, copywriter, designer — so the campaign looks like one thing, not five. Selling the concept to a client who reacts to a single comp instead of the system, then asking to 'see it in blue' across everything. Art-directing a photo shoot to a shot list and a budget, then discovering in the edit that a hero shot the layout needs was never captured. Scope creep — the approved campaign quietly grows new sizes, channels, and 'quick' adaptations that were never quoted. On top of all that, HoneyBook charges $39/month ($468/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Art Director earns $45,000/year. Software at $468/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Adobe Creative Cloud (full suite) 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.
HoneyBook is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
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Your exact HoneyBook cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
| Feature | HoneyBook | Nexa |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✗ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $39/mo forever | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Cost | $1,570 | $279 |
| Stop paying? | Lose everything | Keep everything forever |
Most art directors are fully switched before the weekend.
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My morning is less about making and more about keeping a direction whole. I review a retoucher's first pass against the look we locked, redline a designer's layout where the type hierarchy drifted, and answer the copywriter's question about how long the headline can run before it breaks the grid. The client saw one hero comp and now wants to 'see it in blue' — which means the photographer's palette, the type color, and the whole set of social adaptations, so I push back gently and show the system, not the single frame. Midday I'm building a shot list for Thursday's photo shoot, mapping every layout I'll need to a frame I have to come home with — the wide hero, the vertical for stories, the negative-space version for a headline overlay — so the edit isn't a scramble for a shot we never took. Afternoon I brief two freelancers, hand off in Figma with the spacing and color specs spelled out so it survives without me hovering, and flag that the client's 'quick' new banner sizes weren't in the original scope. Then a kickoff: a brand wants a refresh, and my job is to turn a vague feeling into a direction the whole team can hit.
Real art directors near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you an art director? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every art director on Nexa →
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. HoneyBook may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. HoneyBook is $39/month — that's $1,570 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
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.
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Export your data from HoneyBook as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
The average solo operator there spends about $2,280/year on software — and Art Director face their own version of that math. NC state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Wilmington metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Art Directors run into with HoneyBook, and what Nexa does instead.
$1,570 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once