3D Printing Services 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 3D printing operator earns $28,000/year, so Wave's annual cost is roughly 0.8% 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.
3D Printing Services face unique challenges: Calculating cost per print including filament, electricity, machine wear, and failed prints. Failed prints waste hours and materials with no revenue. Quoting custom projects with unknown print times. Machine maintenance and nozzle replacements eating into margins. On top of all that, Wave charges $19/month ($228/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median 3D printing operator earns $28,000/year. Software at $228/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your FDM and/or resin 3D printers 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 3d printing services 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.
First thing I check the printers that ran overnight. The cosplay helmet on printer one is 11 of 14 hours in and looks clean. Printer two finished 20 board-game miniatures on the resin machine, so I pull the build plate, wash the minis in IPA, cure them under UV, and snip supports with flush cutters. Printer three is spaghetti: the print came off the bed eight hours into a twelve-hour job, and that's filament and machine time in the bin. I scrape the bed, re-level, wipe it with alcohol, add glue stick, check the nozzle for a clog and restart it. Late morning the helmet comes off and the finishing starts: sanding support marks down with 120 grit, filler primer, sanding again at 400 until the layer lines are gone, then masking for paint. The cosplay customer wants a quote for four more pieces, gauntlets and a chest plate, so I slice each model to get print time and grams of filament, add something for failures and sanding hours, and hope the numbers hold. The miniatures customer wants 100 more at a volume price, which means working out how many fit on a plate and how many resin runs that is. In the afternoon I dry a spool of PETG that's been soaking up humidity, swap a worn brass nozzle, and tighten a loose belt. In the evening I pack the minis in foam, print shipping labels, and send the invoice for the helmet with the finishing hours broken out.
Real 3d printing services near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a 3d printing operator? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every 3d printing operator 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 $1,900/year on software — and 3D printing operator face their own version of that math. New York State income tax up to 10.9%. No Buffalo city income tax but high property taxes. Cross-border Canadian clients add complexity. New York State requires home improvement contractor registration in many jurisdictions. Erie County and the City of Buffalo have separate business permit requirements.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Buffalo metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps 3D Printing Services run into with Wave, and what Nexa does instead.
If you want to compare notes or see how other 3d printing services 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