The verdict for freelance writers: FreshBooks is solid software, but at $33/month it costs $1,329 over 3 years. Nexa does most of what FreshBooks does for $279 once. For solo freelance writers and small teams, Nexa is the better deal.
Nexa: $279. Once. You keep $1,050. And you own it — no more "we're updating our pricing" emails.
| Feature | FreshBooks | Nexa |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✗ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $33/mo | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Total | $1,329 | $279 |
| You own it? | No — stop paying, lose access | Yes — forever |
FreshBooks plus whatever else you're paying for:
Email yourself this comparison?
The math doesn't lie.
Freelance Writers deal with unique challenges that generic software was not built for: Tracking hours across 5-8 different client projects simultaneously. Late payments from clients — net-30 regularly turns into net-60. Managing contracts, scope creep, and revision rounds. Tax tracking and quarterly estimated payments with irregular income. FreshBooks costs $17/month just to invoice 5 clients. FreshBooks charges $33/month on top of these daily realities. The median freelance writer earns $48,000/year — $396/year in software subscriptions is a significant percentage of that income, paid every year, forever.
Nexa is $279 once. Invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, accounting — all connected, built for freelance writers. You own it like you own your Laptop / writing workstation.
You're juggling articles for three different clients with deadlines this week. You started a blog post at 9am, switched to editing a white paper at 11, and forgot to stop your timer on Toggl. Now your time tracking is wrong and you need to invoice Client A by Friday but aren't sure how many hours you actually spent on their project. FreshBooks charges you $17/month and Toggl charges $10/month — $324/year just to track time and send invoices.
Real freelance writers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a freelance writer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every freelance writer on Nexa →
For solo freelance writers and small teams, yes. invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting — all for $279 once. FreshBooks may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
FreshBooks has features like Very user-friendly for non-accountants and Built-in time tracking that some businesses rely on. For most solo freelance writers, these aren't dealbreakers.
At $33/month, Nexa pays for itself in 8.5 months. After that: $396 saved every year.
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.
Own your tools. Stop renting your software.
Get Nexa — $279 Once