You're Switching from Wave.
Here's Why Custom T Shirt Makers Choose Nexa.

Wave
$16/mo
$192/year — every year, forever
Nexa
$279
Once. Own it forever.
or 3 payments of $99
Break even in 17.4 months. Then it's free forever.
"Switched from Wave after the last price increase. Nexa does everything I needed for $279. Wish I'd done it sooner."
— Verified Custom T-Shirt Maker, former Wave customer

The Bottom Line

Custom T Shirt Makers on Wave pay $16/month — $192/year. Over three years, that's $644. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 17.4 months. The median Custom T-Shirt Maker earns $32,000/year, so Wave's annual cost is roughly 0.6% of typical revenue — every year, forever.

Key Numbers

$32,000
Median Custom T-Shirt Maker income
2%
Typical SaaS spend as % of revenue
17.4 mo
Break-even vs Wave
$365
3-year savings switching to Nexa

What Wave Is Costing You

The Damage

Wave monthly $16/mo
Annual drain $192/yr
Year 2 (11.4% SaaS inflation) $214
Year 3 $238
3-year total $644

That's $644 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.

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

Why Custom T Shirt Makers Leave Wave

✗Higher payment processing fees than competitors
✗Limited features compared to QuickBooks
✗Support limited on free plan
✗No mobile invoicing on free
✗Acquired by H&R Block - future uncertain
✗Wave wins for freelancers who don't need inventory, but payment processing fees are slightly higher.

See the full history of Wave price changes in the SaaS Graveyard →

Custom T Shirt Makers are leaving Wave every week.

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

Why This Matters for Custom T Shirt Makers

The press warms up first while blanks for today's orders get pulled and lint-rolled. A DTF transfer order goes first: pressing fronts and backs at the right temperature and dwell time, peeling hot or cold depending on the film, and keeping the count straight against the order. A team order is the big job, a mixed size run with names and numbers on the back, so each shirt has to be matched to a name on the roster before it's pressed, and one misread number means a ruined shirt. Screen printing happens in the afternoon for a multi-color logo run: coating and burning a screen for each color, registering them, and flashing between passes, which is slow but the only way to do volume profitably. A business reaches out wanting fifty polos by Friday, so the quote gets built from blank cost, setup, and press time, and the size breakdown gets confirmed before any blanks get ordered. Finished shirts get folded, bagged, and matched to orders for shipping or local pickup. A reorder comes in for a design from three months ago, so the artwork file has to be found. A case of blank tees arrives and goes on the shelf. The day ends reconciling shirts pressed against blanks on hand and pricing the next bulk quote so setup time stops getting buried in the per-shirt number.

Custom T Shirt Makers face unique challenges: Custom team and event orders come in mixed size runs, and getting the count wrong on blanks means either short-shipping the customer or eating boxes of unsold shirts. Pricing has to account for blank cost, transfer or screen setup, and press time, but quoting by gut undercharges multi-color screen jobs that need a screen and a flash per color. Bulk orders for a sports team or a business need specific names and numbers, colors, and a hard deadline, and those details scatter across email, DMs, and a spreadsheet. Blanks are bought in bulk by brand, color, and size to hit a price break, locking up cash in inventory with no clean tie between blanks bought and orders shipped. On top of all that, Wave charges $16/month ($192/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Custom T-Shirt Maker earns $32,000/year. Software at $192/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.

Your a heat press plus a DTF printer or vinyl cutter for transfers 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

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

Want this breakdown emailed to you?

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

"I was paying Wave $16/month and didn't question it until I did the math. $644 over 3 years for tools I don't even own. Nexa was $279. Once. Done."
— Custom T-Shirt Maker business owner

What You Get Instead

Feature Wave Nexa
Invoicing ✓ ✓
Scheduling ✗ ✓
CRM ✗ ✓
Time Tracking ✗ ✓
Full Accounting ✗ ✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management ✗ ✓
Price $16/mo forever $279 once
or 3 × $99
3-Year Cost $644 $279
Stop paying? Lose everything Keep everything forever

Switching Takes 1-2 Days

Most custom t shirt makers are fully switched before the weekend.

1

Export your data

Go to Settings → Data Export. Download customers, invoices, transactions, and accounts.

2

Set up Nexa

15-minute setup. Import your client list and chart of accounts from CSV.

3

Parallel run

Run both for 1-2 weeks. Verify bank connections and recurring invoices work.

4

Cancel Wave

Cancel paid features. Your free account data stays accessible for records.

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

What custom t shirt makers actually deal with

A day in the life of a custom t-shirt maker

The press warms up first while blanks for today's orders get pulled and lint-rolled. A DTF transfer order goes first: pressing fronts and backs at the right temperature and dwell time, peeling hot or cold depending on the film, and keeping the count straight against the order. A team order is the big job, a mixed size run with names and numbers on the back, so each shirt has to be matched to a name on the roster before it's pressed, and one misread number means a ruined shirt. Screen printing happens in the afternoon for a multi-color logo run: coating and burning a screen for each color, registering them, and flashing between passes, which is slow but the only way to do volume profitably. A business reaches out wanting fifty polos by Friday, so the quote gets built from blank cost, setup, and press time, and the size breakdown gets confirmed before any blanks get ordered. Finished shirts get folded, bagged, and matched to orders for shipping or local pickup. A reorder comes in for a design from three months ago, so the artwork file has to be found. A case of blank tees arrives and goes on the shelf. The day ends reconciling shirts pressed against blanks on hand and pricing the next bulk quote so setup time stops getting buried in the per-shirt number.

The tools a working custom t-shirt maker actually owns

Local custom t shirt makers on Nexa

Real custom t shirt makers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a custom t-shirt maker? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every custom t-shirt maker on Nexa →

FAQ

Is Nexa really a Wave replacement for custom t shirt makers?

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.

$279 seems like a lot.

It's $7.75/month over 3 years. Wave is $16/month — that's $644 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 Wave data?

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

Custom T Shirt Makers in Montgomery

The average solo operator there spends about $2,040/year on software — and Custom T-Shirt Maker face their own version of that math. AL state licensing requirements apply.

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

If You Need These — Nexa Has Them

Specific gaps Custom T Shirt Makers run into with Wave, and what Nexa does instead.

✗
Wave gapScheduling
✓
NexaBuilt-in scheduling and booking — no separate tier.
✗
Wave gapCRM
✓
NexaFull CRM module included in $279.
✗
Wave gapTime tracking
✓
NexaBuilt into Nexa’s $279 once purchase — no separate add-on.
"Wave 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."
— Custom T-Shirt Maker, switched from Wave

Stop Losing $192/Year to Wave

$644 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 Wave?

We think Nexa is the better deal at $279 once vs $16/mo. But if you've decided on Wave, here's the link. No hard feelings.

Wave — $16/mo →

This is an affiliate link. If you sign up, we earn a commission.

Also Compare