Hand Lettering 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 hand lettering artist earns $35,000/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.
Hand Lettering Artists face unique challenges: Custom quote pricing complexity. Rush order management. Print-on-demand vs custom fulfillment. Client revision limits. On top of all that, Wave charges $19/month ($228/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median hand lettering artist earns $35,000/year. Software at $228/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Pens and markers 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 hand lettering 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.
I start at 8 with coffee and the order inbox: two custom sign requests, a question about a print, and a bride who wants to change the font on her welcome sign after approving the proof. My main job today is that welcome sign, a 24x36 acrylic panel. I've already sketched the layout in pencil on tracing paper, balancing the couple's names in brush script against the date in a simple serif, and printed it at full size to tape under the acrylic as a guide. I letter with a paint pen and a fine liner, building thin upstrokes and heavy downstrokes the way I'd write with a brush pen, and I have to wipe and redo a flourish twice. It dries while I work on something else. Midday I'm lettering a batch of quotes on paper with a brush pen, then scanning them at high resolution, cleaning up the edges, and vectorizing them so they can go on prints and a greeting card. After lunch I answer the revision request and remind the bride that my quote covered two rounds of changes and this is the third, so there's a small fee. I also quote a rush seating chart for next Saturday. At 3 I package orders: prints in sleeves with board backing, a small sign wrapped in bubble wrap, shipping labels printed. The afternoon ends with shop updates, photographing finished pieces for new listings, and filming a short lettering video for social media.
Real hand lettering artists near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a hand lettering artist? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every hand lettering 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 $3,120/year on software — and hand lettering artist face their own version of that math. NJ state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Jersey City metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Hand Lettering Artists run into with Wave, and what Nexa does instead.
$684 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once