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: the short answer
Every line below is drawn from facts verified on 9 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
- Closest alternative
- QuickBooks Online - The accountant default, with far deeper reporting and inventory
- True annual cost
- from $132 a year at the cheapest paid tier
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 9 August 2026. Pricing model: freemium. No free trial is offered.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | per month | Unlimited invoices and bookkeeping. 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction |
| Pro | $19 | per month | $190/year. Waives the per-transaction fee, so cards are 2.9% + $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 |
| Receipt capture | $11 | per month | $96/year on Starter. $8/month or $72/year on Pro |
| Wave Advisors | From $149 | per month | Bookkeeping done for you by Wave's in-house experts |
What Wave actually costs over a year
A monthly price is not the same thing as a monthly contract. These are the plans above multiplied out to twelve months, per seat or unit where the plan is charged that way.
| Plan | Monthly | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $19 | $228 |
| Payroll (US) | $40 | $480 |
| Payroll (Canada) | $25 | $300 |
| Receipt capture | $11 | $132 |
| Wave Advisors | $149 | $1788 |
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. Vendors localise pricing by visitor region, so a pricing screenshot may display a different currency to 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
Scored by dimension rather than averaged into one number, because the trade-offs are the useful part. 3 of these 8 dimensions are calculated from verified facts by published formula; the rest are editorial judgement, labelled as such. How each score is calculated.
- Cost position6/10
derivedentry tier at $11 a month against a category median of $23 across 5 comparable tools
- Portability3/10
derivedno portability signals
- Subscription flexibility7/10
derivedfree plan, freemium, monthly billing
- Feature depth5/10
editorialeditorial judgement, reviewed at last check
- Ease of learning9/10
editorialeditorial judgement, reviewed at last check
- Collaboration5/10
editorialeditorial judgement, reviewed at last check
- AI capability4/10
editorialeditorial judgement, reviewed at last check
- Professional adoption8/10
editorialeditorial judgement, reviewed at last check
What leaving Wave would cost
high lock-in
Calculated as 10 minus a portability score of 3, built from four signals (self-hosting, a public API, open-source licensing and a documented export path) . Wave scores on none of them. Formula.
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.
Xero
Finance
Cloud accounting built for the person doing the books, not just the accountant.
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 works out at $11 a month, or $132 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.
Provenance and freshness
When each fact was last checked
- Pricing ·
- Plans ·
- Free trial
- Features
- Platforms
- Integrations
- Affiliate programme
- Company details
What has changed
-
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 9 August 2026
- Wave Payroll pricing - checked 9 August 2026
Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will re-check it. Corrections are logged on the page.
