Personal Chefs 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 personal chef earns $55,000/year, so Wave's annual cost is roughly 0.4% 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.
Personal Chefs face unique challenges: Meal planning and dietary restriction tracking. Grocery cost management. Client preference notes. Scheduling around client availability. On top of all that, Wave charges $19/month ($228/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median personal chef earns $55,000/year. Software at $228/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Chef knives 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 personal chefs 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 cook for five families a week, in their kitchens, and each has their own menu. Planning starts days before: I check in about the coming week, allergies, preferences and any events, then write a menu and shopping list. Shopping is a real part of the job, often two or three stores to find the right ingredients, and I keep receipts for everything because groceries are billed back at cost. Cook days are long: arriving with my own knives and equipment, cooking four or five dishes in someone else's kitchen, cooling and portioning everything properly, labelling each container with the dish and reheating instructions, and leaving the kitchen cleaner than I found it. Food safety is non-negotiable: temperatures, cross-contamination, and allergies taken seriously, because a mistake can put someone in hospital. Dinner parties and special occasions are separate bookings with a set menu, a price per person, and sometimes serving staff. Most clients pay a weekly service fee plus groceries, and I invoice right after each cook day.
Real personal chefs near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a personal chef? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every personal chef 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 $2,640/year on software — and personal chef face their own version of that math. MA state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Worcester metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Personal Chefs 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