Airbrush Artists on Wave pay $19/month — $228/year. Over three years, that's $684. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 14.7 months. The median airbrush artist earns $32,000/year, so Wave's annual cost is roughly 0.7% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
That's $684 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
See the full history of Wave price changes in the SaaS Graveyard →
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Airbrush Artists face unique challenges: Event work (boardwalk, parties) has different economics than custom commissions. Equipment maintenance (nozzle replacements, compressor service) is ongoing. Seasonal income — summer events and holidays peak, winter is dead. Custom vehicle and helmet work requires deposits and milestone billing. On top of all that, Wave charges $19/month ($228/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median airbrush artist earns $32,000/year. Software at $228/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Airbrush guns (Iwata, Badger) 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.
Wave is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
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Your exact Wave cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
| Feature | Wave | Nexa |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✓ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works offline | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $19/mo forever | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Cost | $684 | $279 |
| Stop paying? | Lose everything | Keep everything forever |
Most airbrush artists are fully switched before the weekend.
Go to Settings → Data Export. Download customers, invoices, transactions, and accounts.
15-minute setup. Import your client list and bank transactions from CSV.
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Re-create recurring invoices in Nexa and check your bank imports.
Cancel paid features. Your free account data stays accessible for records.
Saturday in summer I'm set up on the boardwalk by 9 with the compressor, a gravity-feed double-action brush with a 0.35mm needle for fills and a 0.2 for fine lines, a heat gun, and a rack of blank tees. People pick a name and a design off the board, and I knock out a sunset-and-palm-tree shirt with lettering in about ten minutes, heat-set the textile paint, and bag it while the next kid waits. By 4 I've done a couple dozen shirts in cash and my brush has clogged twice, so I strip it at the table, soak the nozzle in reducer and replace a bent needle cap. Sunday I clean everything properly and flush the lines. Monday starts the custom motorcycle tank mural: the tank comes in off the bike, I scuff it with 600-grit, lay down the base, and cut frisket masks for the skull and flames. I work in urethane-compatible paint, build the shading in thin passes, and it goes to the body shop for clear coat when I'm done, so I schedule their booth time before I start. That job is two days of work and I took a deposit before cutting a single mask, with the balance due when the clear is on. Wednesday is a kids' birthday party, two hours of tees at a flat rate. Evenings I reorder paint and needles, service the compressor's water trap, answer quote requests for helmets, and send the tank owner a progress photo and a reminder that the final payment is due at pickup.
Real airbrush artists near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you an airbrush artist? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every airbrush artist on Nexa →
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. Wave may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. Wave is $19/month — that's $684 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 Wave as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
The average solo operator there spends about $1,968/year on software — and airbrush artist face their own version of that math. LA state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Shreveport metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Airbrush Artists run into with Wave, and what Nexa does instead.
If you want to compare notes or see how other airbrush artists are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.
$684 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once