Portrait Painters 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 Portrait Painter 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.
Portrait Painters face unique challenges: Clients send blurry phone photos in bad lighting, then expect the painting to look like a studio portrait. Mid-commission revision requests ('can you make Grandpa look younger?') that aren't in the original agreement. Pricing a 16x20 oil portrait so it covers 30-plus hours of work without scaring off the client. Long drying times on oils mean a delivery date slips and the client thinks you forgot them. On top of all that, HoneyBook charges $39/month ($468/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Portrait Painter 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 Winsor & Newton oil paints 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 portrait painters are fully switched before the weekend.
Go to Company Settings → export contacts and projects. Download templates separately.
15-minute setup. Import your contacts and recreate your key templates.
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Transition active projects after they complete.
Cancel before renewal. Save any contract templates as PDFs.
The morning starts by checking the north-facing studio light before touching a brush, because color matching skin tones under afternoon sun is hopeless. You pin the client's reference photos to the wall, squint to read the values, and mix a base flesh tone from cadmium red, yellow ochre, white, and a whisper of viridian to kill the pink. Most of the day is the slow build: blocking in the underpainting, then waiting, then glazing thin layers so the cheeks actually glow instead of looking like plastic. Around lunch a client texts asking for a progress photo, and you debate whether to send one, knowing an unfinished face always looks 'wrong' to someone who isn't a painter. You spend an hour just on the eyes, because everyone judges a portrait by whether the eyes follow them. Between sessions you photograph the work-in-progress for your portfolio, answer two inquiry emails asking 'how much for a painting of my dad,' and quote one of them. By evening the linen needs to dry before the next layer, so you clean brushes with mineral spirits, scrape the palette, and log the hours so this commission doesn't quietly turn into unpaid labor.
Real portrait painters near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a portrait painter? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every portrait painter 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 $2,880/year on software — and Portrait Painter face their own version of that math. NJ state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Edison metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Portrait Painters 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