Wave offers invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping free of charge, making money on payment processing, payroll and bookkeeping services instead. For sole traders and very small businesses in the US and Canada it removes the accounting subscription entirely, which is why it has been the default free option for over a decade.
Wave ranking and coverage
- In Finance
- #4 of 7
- Overall
- #87 of 122 tied
- Terms score
- 4.8 /10
- Referenced here
- 3 pages
Cost position 4.3 · Portability 3 · Subscription flexibility 7 - Ranked on published terms only: entry price against category peers, portability and subscription flexibility, equally weighted. This is not a quality score.How the rank is calculated.
Wave: the short answer
Every line below is drawn from facts verified on 19 August 2026.
- What it is
- Free double-entry accounting, funded by payment processing
- Best for
- Sole traders and freelancers in the US or Canada
- Starts at
- Starter free; Pro $19/month or $190/year
- Free option
- Free plan available, no trial
- Biggest strength
- Real double-entry accounting at no subscription cost
- Biggest drawback
- Payments and payroll are limited to the US and Canada
- Based on
- Primary-source research, not hands-on use
- Closest alternative
- QuickBooks Online - The accountant default, with far deeper reporting and inventory
- True annual cost
- from $228 a year on Pro, the cheapest paid tier ($19 a month)
Wave at a glance
| Best for | Sole traders and freelancers in the US or Canada, Very small businesses wanting free double-entry bookkeeping, Anyone whose accounting needs stop at invoices and expenses |
|---|---|
| Category | Finance, Productivity |
| Starting price | Starter free; Pro $19/month or $190/year |
| Free plan | Yes |
| Free trial | No trial offered |
| Pricing model | freemium |
| Company | Wave Financial Inc. |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Founders | Kirk Simpson, James Lochrie |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Public API | No |
| Browser extension | No |
| Mobile apps | iOS + Android |
| Self-hosting | No |
| Affiliate programme | No |
| Data source | Vendor pricing page and public records |
| Last checked | August 2026 |
Wave pricing
Prices below were read from the vendor's own pricing page on 19 August 2026. Pricing model: freemium. No free trial is offered.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | per month | Unlimited users - Unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, and unlimited receipt capture. Card payments are 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction, or 3.4% + $0.60 for Amex |
| Pro | $19 | per month | Unlimited users - $190 a year. Waives the fixed part of the card fee, so cards are 2.9% + $0 and Amex 3.4% + $0 |
| Payroll (US) | $40 | per month | USD base fee plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid |
| Payroll (Canada) | $25 | per month | CAD base fee plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid |
| Wave Advisors | From $149 | per month | Bookkeeping done for you by Wave's in-house experts, starting at $149 a month in the US and $199 CAD in Canada. Mobile receipts are not included |
What Wave actually costs over a year
A monthly price is not the same thing as a monthly contract. These are the plans above resolved both ways, per seat or unit where the plan is charged that way. Where a vendor quotes only a yearly figure it is divided by twelve rather than left out, and the Quoted column says which figure the vendor actually publishes.
| Plan | Quoted | Monthly | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProUnlimited users | per month | $19 | $228 |
| Payroll (US) add-on | per month | $40 | $480 |
| Payroll (Canada) add-on | per month | $25 | $300 |
| Wave Advisors add-on | per month | $149 | $1,788 |
Which Wave plan should you buy?
| Your situation | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You are a freelancer invoicing a few clients | Starter | Free, with real double-entry accounting. Card processing at 2.9% + $0.60 is how Wave earns instead. |
| You take many card payments | Pro | $19 a month removes the $0.60 per transaction. At around 60 card payments a month it pays for itself. Count your transactions. |
| You run payroll in the US | Payroll (US) | $40 base plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid. |
| You run payroll in Canada | Payroll (Canada) | $25 CAD base plus the same $6 per person. The difference from the US figure is country, not service level. |
| You want the books kept for you | Wave Advisors | From $149 a month with a dedicated bookkeeper. |
| You are outside the US or Canada | Consider Xero instead | Wave's payments and payroll are US and Canada only. |
Verdict by who you are
Freelancer or sole trader in the US or CanadaYes
Genuine double-entry accounting at no subscription cost. Nothing else matches that.
Business taking frequent card paymentsYes
Pro at $19 removes the per-transaction fee, and the arithmetic is straightforward.
Business outside North AmericaNo
The parts that make Wave convenient do not work in your country.
Growing business with inventoryNo
No inventory, no project accounting, no API. You would migrate later, and moving accounting data is unpleasant.
Should you buy Wave?
Buy Wave if…
- Sole traders and freelancers in the US or Canada
- Very small businesses wanting free double-entry bookkeeping
- Anyone whose accounting needs stop at invoices and expenses
Do not buy Wave if…
- Businesses outside the US and Canada
- Companies needing inventory or project accounting
- Growing businesses that will outgrow it and have to migrate
Key features
- Genuine double-entry accounting, not simplified cash tracking
- Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records
- Bank and credit card connections for transaction import
- Recurring invoices with automatic payment
- Receipt capture with OCR as a paid add-on
- Payroll with tax filing in supported jurisdictions
- Financial statements and tax-time reports
- Wave Advisors for outsourced bookkeeping
Integrations
- Stripe-style card and bank payments through Wave Payments
- Bank feeds from most North American institutions
- H&R Block and Block Advisors tax professionals
- Zapier, through third-party connectors
Wave screenshots
Captured by us in August 2026 at 1440px, unedited. Interfaces change, so these show the product as it looked on the date we verified this profile. Pricing pages are captured from a US vantage point, so the currency shown matches the USD figures recorded above.
Our assessment
Wave is the most generous free accounting product available, and for a freelancer invoicing a handful of clients that is the beginning and end of the analysis. It is real double-entry bookkeeping rather than a simplified ledger, so an accountant can work with it. The costs surface elsewhere: card processing at 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on the free plan is where Wave earns its money, and Pro at $19 a month exists mainly to waive that per-transaction charge. The harder limitation is geography and headroom. Payments and payroll are US and Canada only, there is no inventory or project accounting, and no public API, so a business that grows will migrate rather than upgrade.
What works in Wave
- Real double-entry accounting at no subscription cost
- Unlimited invoices and bookkeeping records on the free plan
- Pro at $19 removes the per-transaction card fee
- Backed by H&R Block, so unlikely to disappear
What doesn't
- Payments and payroll are limited to the US and Canada
- No inventory, project accounting or public API
- Free plan card fees include $0.60 per transaction
- Growing businesses tend to migrate away rather than upgrade
EveryAny Decision Score
3 of these 8 dimensions are calculated from verified facts; the rest are our judgement, shown as a band rather than a figure unless something specific sits behind them. How each score works.
- Cost position4.3/10
derivedentry tier at $19 a month against a category median of $19 a month across 7 comparable tools
- Portability3/10
derivedno portability signals
- Subscription flexibility7/10
derivedfree plan, freemium, monthly billing
- Feature depthModerate
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- Ease of learningVery high
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- CollaborationModerate
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- AI capabilityLow
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- Professional adoptionHigh
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
What leaving Wave would cost
high lock-in
Wave offers none of the four portability signals we check, so anything you build here stays here. Portability 3/10 ; lock-in is the inverse. How this is calculated.
Wave competitors and alternatives
| Alternative | Why you might pick it instead |
|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | The accountant default, with far deeper reporting and inventory. |
| Xero | Better international coverage and unlimited users on every plan. |
| FreshBooks | Nicer invoicing and time tracking, aimed at service businesses. |
QuickBooks Online
Finance
The small-business accounting default in the United States.
Checked Aug 2026
Xero
Finance
Cloud accounting built for the person doing the books, not just the accountant.
Checked Aug 2026
Free is real, and processing is where it pays
Starter costs nothing and includes unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records. Wave makes its money when your customers pay you: 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction, or 3.4% + $0.60 for American Express.
Pro at $19 a month, or $190 a year, mainly buys that $0.60 away. Card processing drops to 2.9% + $0, Amex to 3.4% + $0.
So the upgrade is arithmetic, not features. If you take 60 card payments a month, the $0.60 fee costs $36 and Pro pays for itself. If you take five, it does not. Count your transactions before subscribing.
Payroll pricing depends on which country, not which plan
This one is easy to get wrong, because the pricing table shows two figures side by side:
- $40 USD base fee per month in the United States
- $25 CAD base fee per month in Canada
Both then add $6 per active employee and $6 per independent contractor paid. The difference is currency and country, not a service tier, and the per-person fees are where the real cost sits: ten employees is $60 a month on top of the base.
The add-ons are priced by plan
Receipt capture with OCR is an add-on, and it is cheaper if you already pay for Pro: $11 a month or $96 a year on Starter, $8 a month or $72 a year on Pro. Wave Advisors, which is outsourced bookkeeping with a dedicated bookkeeper, starts at $149 a month.
The two real limits
Geography. Wave Payments and Payroll work in the United States and Canada. If you invoice from elsewhere, the free accounting still functions but the parts that make it convenient do not, and Xero or a local product will serve you better.
Headroom. There is no inventory management, no project or job costing, and no public API. That is a deliberate scope decision rather than an oversight, and it means a business that adds stock, staff and systems eventually moves to QuickBooks Online or Xero. Migrating accounting data mid-life is unpleasant, so if you can already see that growth coming, it is worth weighing against a year or two of saved subscription fees.
Wave questions, answered
- Is Wave worth it?
- Wave is the most generous free accounting product available, and for a freelancer invoicing a handful of clients that is the beginning and end of the analysis.
- How much does Wave cost?
- Starter free; Pro $19/month or $190/year. The cheapest paid tier we recorded is Pro, published at $19 a month, which works out at $19 a month or $228 over a year. Verified against the vendor's pricing page.
- Does Wave have a free plan or free trial?
- Wave has a free plan. No free trial is offered.
- What is the best Wave alternative?
- It depends on the job. QuickBooks Online: The accountant default, with far deeper reporting and inventory. Xero: Better international coverage and unlimited users on every plan. FreshBooks: Nicer invoicing and time tracking, aimed at service businesses.
- Can I self-host Wave?
- No. Wave is a hosted service only, so your data lives on the vendor's infrastructure.
What this profile is based on
Every claim below is about our work, not about Wave. A "no" is recorded rather than omitted, because the difference between a tested review and careful desk research is the reader's to weigh. How we research a profile.
-
Prices read from the vendor : yes
Read from Wave's own pricing page on 19 August 2026
-
Plans and terms recorded : yes
5 rows, each with its billing period
-
Original screenshots : yes
2 captured by us: homepage, pricing page
-
Sources cited and dated : yes
2 primary sources, each with the date it was read
-
Product used first-hand : no
Not tested. This profile is desk research from primary sources
-
Alternatives used first-hand : no
None, so comparisons here rest on published facts rather than use
-
Vendor contacted : no
Not contacted for this profile
Desk research from Wave's own pricing and payroll pages, read on 19 August 2026 through a United States egress. Nobody here has kept books in Wave or run a payroll through it. The geographic limitation - that payments and payroll serve the US and Canada only - is the fact that decides whether any of the rest applies to you.
Where Wave appears on this site
3 other pages here reference Wave. Every one is listed below, so the figure can be checked rather than taken.
- Buyer guide Best accounting software for small business in 2026 ranked #1
- Another profile Akaunting names it as a competitor
- Another profile Zoho Books names it as a competitor
Counts pages on this site that name the product by choice - buyer guides, articles, deal records and other profiles. Category and directory indexes list everything automatically and are not counted.
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Provenance and freshness
When each fact was last checked
- Pricing ·
- Plans ·
- Free trial
- Features
- Platforms
- Integrations
- Affiliate programme
- Company details
Individually sourced claims
-
Starter is free with unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, bookkeeping records and receipt capture, and unlimited users
Wave pricing ↗ · checked
-
Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year, and removes the fixed part of the card fee, taking cards from 2.9% + $0.60 to 2.9% + $0
Wave pricing ↗ · checked
-
Wave Payroll is $40 a month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid, with tax service now available in all 50 US states
Wave Payroll ↗ · checked
-
Wave Advisors starts at $149 a month in the US and $199 CAD in Canada
Wave pricing ↗ · checked
What has changed
-
August 2026
- Removed the separate receipt-capture charge, which the pricing page no longer carries - unlimited receipt capture is now listed on both Starter and Pro
- Classified Wave Advisors as an add-on rather than a tier, which it never was
- Recorded that Wave Payroll's tax service now covers all 50 US states at one price
- Re-read the card fees, unchanged at 2.9% + $0.60 on Starter and 2.9% + $0 on Pro
-
August 2026
- Payroll pricing verified as a country difference, not a service tier
- Added plan picker and verdicts
Sources & verification
Facts on this page were read from the sources below on the dates shown. Where a vendor does not publish a figure, we record it as not disclosed rather than estimating it.
- Wave pricing - checked 19 August 2026
- Wave Payroll pricing - checked 19 August 2026
Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will re-check it. Corrections are logged on the page.
