Is Nexa better than Wave for beat makers?

For solo beat makers and small teams (1-5), Nexa offers invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting for $279 one-time. Wave costs $16/month ($644 over 3 years). Wave may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.

How much cheaper is Nexa than Wave for beat makers?

Nexa is $279 one-time. Wave is $192/year. You save $-87 in year one. Over 3 years: $365.

Can beat makers switch from Wave to Nexa?

Yes. Export your data from Wave as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes. Most switch in 1-2 days.

Wave vs Nexa
The Real Comparison for Beat Makers

Wave

$16/mo ($192/yr)

Nexa

$279 once — own forever

or 3 payments of $99

Break even: 17.4 months. Save $365 over 3 years.

"I compared Wave and Nexa side by side. The math wasn't even close. $644 over 3 years vs $279 once. Switched and never looked back."

— Beat maker, Nexa customer

The verdict for beat makers: Wave is solid software, but at $16/month it costs $644 over 3 years. Nexa does most of what Wave does for $279 once. For solo beat makers and small teams, Nexa is the better deal.

Choose Nexa if:

You're done paying monthly forever
You're a solo operator or small team (1-5)
You need financial-suite, Invoicing, Connect CRM in one purchase in one tool
You're tired of price increases
You want to own your tools like you own your equipment

Choose Wave if:

You have a large team (10+) needing enterprise features
You're deeply invested in Wave's specific workflow
You need a feature Nexa doesn't have yet

What Wave Actually Costs Beat Makers

The 3-Year Damage

Year 1$192

Year 2 (+11.4% inflation)$214

Year 3$238

Total lost to Wave$644

Nexa: $279. Once. You keep $365. And you own it — no more "we're updating our pricing" emails.

Your Wave subscription has cost you $0.00 since you opened this page.

Feature-by-Feature

Feature	Wave	Nexa
Invoicing	✓	✓
Scheduling	✗	✓
CRM	✗	✓
Time Tracking	✗	✓
Full Accounting	✗	✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management	✗	✓
Price	$16/mo	$279 once or 3 × $99
3-Year Total	$644	$279
You own it?	No — stop paying, lose access	Yes — forever

"The feature comparison convinced me. Nexa does 90% of what Wave does — for 10% of the 3-year cost. And I actually own it."

— Beat maker

Calculate Your Full Stack

Wave plus whatever else you're paying for:

Email yourself this comparison?

Switching from Wave

Export your data — Go to Settings → Data Export. Download customers, invoices, transactions, and accounts.

Set up Nexa — 15-minute setup. Import your client list and chart of accounts from CSV.

Parallel run — Run both for 1-2 weeks. Verify bank connections and recurring invoices work.

Cancel Wave — Cancel paid features. Your free account data stays accessible for records.

✓ 30-day money-back guarantee. Zero risk.

Beat Makers are switching from Wave every week.

The math doesn't lie.

What This Means for Beat Makers

You sold 8 beat leases this month on BeatStars ($30 each) and 1 exclusive ($500). BeatStars took their 20% cut. You also have a custom beat commission from a local rapper ($300, half upfront). Your plugin subscriptions cost $45/month. You've been producing for 3 years with 200 beats on BeatStars and have no idea which beats earn and which don't. Your 'accounting' is checking your BeatStars dashboard.

Beat Makers deal with unique challenges that generic software was not built for: Tracking lease vs. exclusive sales with different licensing terms. Revenue from BeatStars, Airbit, and direct sales all in different places. Royalty tracking on leased beats. Plugin and sample subscription costs eating into profit. Wave charges $16/month on top of these daily realities. The median beat maker earns $22,000/year — $192/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 beat makers. You own it like you own your DAW (FL Studio, Ableton, Logic).

What beat makers actually deal with

Tracking lease vs. exclusive sales with different licensing terms
Revenue from BeatStars, Airbit, and direct sales all in different places
Royalty tracking on leased beats
Plugin and sample subscription costs eating into profit

A day in the life of a beat maker

The tools a working beat maker actually owns

DAW (FL Studio, Ableton, Logic)
MIDI controller and keyboard
Audio interface and monitors
Sample library subscriptions

Why beat makers leave the big platforms

freshbooks: $33/month for invoicing custom beats. Most producers make under $30K — that's over $1 per dollar of profit.
wave: Free but can't track per-beat revenue across leases, exclusives, and custom work.

Where beat makers actually talk shop

r/makinghiphop (Reddit)
r/WeAreTheMusicMakers (Reddit)
r/trapproduction (Reddit)
r/BeatMarket (Reddit)
Future Producers (Forum)
Gearslutz/GearSpace (Forum)
Internet Money (YouTube)
Kyle Beats (YouTube)

Local beat makers on Nexa

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

FAQ

Is Nexa really a Wave replacement?

For solo beat makers and small teams, yes. invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting — all for $279 once. Wave may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.

What does Wave do that Nexa doesn't?

Wave has features like Free accounting software and Unlimited invoicing that some businesses rely on. For most solo beat makers, these aren't dealbreakers.

How fast does Nexa pay for itself?

At $16/month, Nexa pays for itself in 17.4 months. After that: $192 saved every year.

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.

"$644 over 3 years to Wave. Or $279 once for Nexa. I own my tools now. No more renting software."

— Beat maker, Nexa owner

$644 Over 3 Years. Or $279 Once (or 3 × $99).

Own your tools. Stop renting your software.

Get Nexa — $279 Once