You're Switching from Housecall Pro. Here's Why Painters Choose Nexa.
Housecall Pro
$79/mo
$948/year — every year, forever
Nexa
$279
Once. Own it forever.
or 3 payments of $99
Break even in 3.5 months. Then it's free forever.
"Switched from Housecall Pro after the last price increase. Nexa does everything I needed for $279. Wish I'd done it sooner."
— Verified painter, former Housecall Pro customer
The Bottom Line
Painters on Housecall Pro pay $79/month — $948/year. Over three years, that's $2,844. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 3.5 months. The median painter earns $42,000/year, so Housecall Pro's annual cost is roughly 2.3% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
Key Numbers
$42,000
Median painter income
2.4%
Typical SaaS spend as % of revenue
3.5 mo
Break-even vs Housecall Pro
$2,565
3-year savings switching to Nexa
What Housecall Pro Is Costing You
The Damage
Housecall Pro monthly$79/mo
Annual drain$948/yr
Year 2 (at today's price)$948
Year 3$948
3-year total$2,844
That's $2,844 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
Your Housecall Pro subscription has cost you $0.00 since you opened this page.
Why Painters Leave Housecall Pro
✗Per-user fees ($35/month) scale fast
✗Basic plan missing QuickBooks integration
✗Card payments cost 2.59% in person, 2.99% online, 3.49% keyed.
✗No job costing functionality
✗Cost creep from paid add-ons is the single most common reason businesses stop using Housecall Pro.
✗If you have a team of 10, you're paying $299 base plus $315 for 9 additional users. That's $614/month.
✗The add-on model creates a slow bleed that catches people off guard.
Painters are leaving Housecall Pro every week.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Why This Matters for Painters
Painting is ninety percent preparation. Before any colour goes on I'm moving furniture, covering floors, masking trim, filling holes and cracks, sanding, and priming stains and patches so they don't flash through. On exteriors it's scraping loose paint, caulking gaps, replacing rotten trim, and power-washing days before I paint so the siding is dry. Then it's cutting in edges with a brush and rolling walls, two coats, watching the wet edge so there are no lap marks. The weather runs my exterior season: too hot, too humid or rain in the forecast and the day moves. Quoting is where I win or lose money. I walk every job, measure, count doors and windows, and note the repairs, because a cheap-looking job with bad walls can eat two extra days. I help clients pick colours and sheens, and I order the paint in advance. Clean-up happens every night. Most of my work comes from referrals and neighbours who see my truck in front of a house they like.
Painters face unique challenges: Estimating square footage and paint quantities remotely. Multi-day jobs throwing off the rest of the week's schedule. Tracking paint and supply costs per job for accurate bidding. Clients wanting color consultations that eat unpaid hours. On top of all that, Housecall Pro charges $79/month ($948/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median painter earns $42,000/year. Software at $948/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Airless sprayer (Graco, Titan) 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.
Your Full Stack Cost
Housecall Pro is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
Want this breakdown emailed to you?
Your exact Housecall Pro cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
"I was paying Housecall Pro $79/month and didn't question it until I did the math. $2,844 over 3 years for tools I don't even own. Nexa was $279. Once. Done."
— Painter business owner
What You Get Instead
Feature
Housecall Pro
Nexa
Invoicing
✓
✓
Scheduling
✓
✓
CRM
✓
✓
Time Tracking
—
✓
Full Accounting
—
✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management
—
✓
Works offline
—
✓
Price
$79/mo forever
$279 once or 3 × $99
3-Year Cost
$2,844
$279
Stop paying?
Lose everything
Keep everything forever
Switching Takes 1-2 Days
Most painters are fully switched before the weekend.
1
Export your data
Go to Settings → export customers, job history, and invoices as CSV files.
2
Set up Nexa
15-minute setup. Import your customer list by CSV; re-enter your core services.
3
Parallel run
Run both for 2 weeks. Transition dispatching and booking to Nexa.
4
Cancel Housecall Pro
Cancel subscription (check for early termination fees). Download all records.
✓ Run both in parallel. Cancel Housecall Pro when you're confident. Zero risk.
What painters actually deal with
Estimating square footage and paint quantities remotely
Multi-day jobs throwing off the rest of the week's schedule
Tracking paint and supply costs per job for accurate bidding
Clients wanting color consultations that eat unpaid hours
A day in the life of a painter
Painting is ninety percent preparation. Before any colour goes on I'm moving furniture, covering floors, masking trim, filling holes and cracks, sanding, and priming stains and patches so they don't flash through. On exteriors it's scraping loose paint, caulking gaps, replacing rotten trim, and power-washing days before I paint so the siding is dry. Then it's cutting in edges with a brush and rolling walls, two coats, watching the wet edge so there are no lap marks. The weather runs my exterior season: too hot, too humid or rain in the forecast and the day moves. Quoting is where I win or lose money. I walk every job, measure, count doors and windows, and note the repairs, because a cheap-looking job with bad walls can eat two extra days. I help clients pick colours and sheens, and I order the paint in advance. Clean-up happens every night. Most of my work comes from referrals and neighbours who see my truck in front of a house they like.
The tools a working painter actually owns
Airless sprayer (Graco, Titan)
Brushes and roller sets (multiple nap sizes)
Extension ladders and scaffolding
Drop cloths and masking supplies
Why painters leave the big platforms
jobber: Built for one-hour service calls, not multi-day painting projects. The scheduling doesn't handle day spans well.
quickbooks: I don't need payroll and inventory modules. I need to estimate, schedule, and invoice. $55/month for bloat.
housecall-pro: $129/month and half the features are for dispatching teams I don't have.
Where painters actually talk shop
r/painting (Reddit)
r/HomeImprovement (Reddit)
r/sweatystartup (Reddit)
r/Construction (Reddit)
PaintTalk.com (Forum)
ContractorTalk.com (Forum)
Idaho Painter (YouTube)
Paint Life TV (YouTube)
Local painters on Nexa
Real painters near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee.
Are you a painter? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time.
Or browse every painter on Nexa →
FAQ
Is Nexa really a Housecall Pro replacement for painters?
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. Housecall Pro may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
$279 seems like a lot.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. Housecall Pro is $79/month — that's $2,844 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
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.
What if I don't like it?
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Can I import my Housecall Pro data?
Export your data from Housecall Pro as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
Painters in Jersey City
The average solo operator there spends about $3,120/year on software — and painter 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.
If You Need These — Nexa Has Them
Specific gaps Painters run into with Housecall Pro, and what Nexa does instead.
✗
Housecall Pro gapNo QuickBooks on Basic plan
✓
NexaEverything in $279 — no tiers, no locked features.
✗
Housecall Pro gapNo built-in route optimization
✓
NexaBuilt into Nexa’s $279 once purchase — no separate add-on.
✗
Housecall Pro gapLimited reporting on lower tiers
✓
NexaEverything in $279 — no tiers, no locked features.
Where Painters Talk Shop
If you want to compare notes or see how other painters are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.
Idaho Painter, Paint Life TV, The Idaho Painter, Painting and Decorating
Podcasts
Painter Marketing Mastermind, Ask a Painter Live
"Housecall Pro raised prices again and I was done. Found Nexa — $279 once. I own it. No more 'we're updating our pricing' emails. Best business decision this year."
— Painter, switched from Housecall Pro
Stop Losing $948/Year to Housecall Pro
$2,844 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.