You're Switching from Wave.
Here's Why Fish Breeders 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 Fish Breeder, former Wave customer

The Bottom Line

Fish Breeders 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 Fish Breeder earns $32,000/year, so Wave's annual cost is roughly 0.6% of typical revenue — every year, forever.

Key Numbers

$32,000
Median Fish Breeder income
2.3%
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 Fish Breeders 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 →

Fish Breeders are leaving Wave every week.

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

Why This Matters for Fish Breeders

Mornings are about the smallest mouths in the building. Newly hatched fry can starve in a tank full of food that's simply too big for them, so you're hatching brine shrimp and keeping infusoria and green water going on a schedule that never stops. You walk the rack checking every tank, watching for a pair that's coloring up and ready to spawn, separating aggressors, conditioning breeders on richer food to bring them into shape. Water quality is religion here, because fry are fragile and one ammonia spike ends a whole batch. When a spawn hits you're moving eggs or fry to a safe grow-out tank, then sorting weeks later for the best color and finnage, the ones worth keeping the line going with. Selling means photographing your best stock, listing it, and then the nerve-wracking part, bagging fish with pure oxygen and a heat pack and trusting an overnight carrier to get them across the country alive. The whole operation lives on the edge: a heater that sticks on, a power outage, a disease that jumps tank to tank, and months of selective work can vanish in a day. It's patient, precise, slightly obsessive work, and the payoff is a strain that's a little more beautiful each generation.

Fish Breeders face unique challenges: Timing live fry food cultures so newly hatched fry have something small enough to eat the day they need it. Selectively pairing and conditioning fish for color and form, then watching a spawn fail anyway. Shipping live fish overnight with heat packs and oxygen so they arrive alive and healthy. A single tank crash or disease outbreak wiping out months of selective breeding work. On top of all that, Wave charges $16/month ($192/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Fish Breeder 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 Rack of breeding and grow-out tanks with individual sponge filters 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."
— Fish Breeder 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 fish breeders 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 fish breeders actually deal with

A day in the life of a fish breeder

Mornings are about the smallest mouths in the building. Newly hatched fry can starve in a tank full of food that's simply too big for them, so you're hatching brine shrimp and keeping infusoria and green water going on a schedule that never stops. You walk the rack checking every tank, watching for a pair that's coloring up and ready to spawn, separating aggressors, conditioning breeders on richer food to bring them into shape. Water quality is religion here, because fry are fragile and one ammonia spike ends a whole batch. When a spawn hits you're moving eggs or fry to a safe grow-out tank, then sorting weeks later for the best color and finnage, the ones worth keeping the line going with. Selling means photographing your best stock, listing it, and then the nerve-wracking part, bagging fish with pure oxygen and a heat pack and trusting an overnight carrier to get them across the country alive. The whole operation lives on the edge: a heater that sticks on, a power outage, a disease that jumps tank to tank, and months of selective work can vanish in a day. It's patient, precise, slightly obsessive work, and the payoff is a strain that's a little more beautiful each generation.

The tools a working fish breeder actually owns

Local fish breeders on Nexa

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

FAQ

Is Nexa really a Wave replacement for fish breeders?

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.

Fish Breeders in Peoria

The average solo operator there spends about $2,040/year on software — and Fish Breeder face their own version of that math. IL state licensing requirements apply.

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

If You Need These — Nexa Has Them

Specific gaps Fish Breeders 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."
— Fish Breeder, 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 →

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