Wave Review
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for small businesses, with a paid Pro plan for bank automation
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Looking for a Wave alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is Wave?
Wave is free accounting and invoicing software built for freelancers and small businesses that don't need a bookkeeper on staff. You can send invoices, track income and expenses, and generate basic financial reports at no cost, for as long as you use it.
The catch is that the features most small businesses actually want, automatic bank transaction imports, receipt scanning, and categorization, sit behind the $19/month Pro plan. Without Pro, you're entering every transaction by hand. Wave also makes money on payment processing (2.9% + $0.60 per card charge) and sells payroll and bookkeeping services as separate add-ons.
H&R Block acquired Wave in 2019 and has since narrowed what's free and pushed more users toward Pro and paid support.
Wave screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Freelancers and very small businesses that mainly need to send invoices and don't mind entering transactions manually
- ✓ Business owners who want zero-cost software and are willing to pay $19/month once transaction volume makes automation worth it
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Businesses that need reliable, fast customer support when something goes wrong with a payment
- ✗ Teams that want inventory tracking, project management, or budgeting built into the accounting tool
Pros
- + Core invoicing and bookkeeping is genuinely free with no seat limits or time cutoff
- + Simple, transparent pricing with only one paid tier to consider
- + Discounted card processing rate on the first 10 transactions each month for Pro users
Cons
- – Free plan requires manual entry since bank feed automation is Pro-only
- – Free plan has no human support at all, only a chatbot
- – An A- BBB rating with 224 complaints filed against it, some describing frozen or delayed payouts, and reports of two-week-plus support wait times on urgent issues even on paid plans
Wave pricing
What you pay for
Wave's core invoicing and bookkeeping software is free forever, but you pay per card and bank transaction you process, and you pay $19 a month for Pro if you want your bank feed to import automatically instead of by hand. Pricing is public and simple: one free tier, one paid tier, plus optional payroll and bookkeeping add-ons billed separately. There's no quote-only pricing here.
At about $19/month to start, it is one of the cheaper options in Accounting Software.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Unlimited invoices, estimates, and bills · Manual bookkeeping records · Mobile app access · Online payments at 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction |
| Pro | $19/mo | Everything in Starter · Unlimited users on one account, no per-seat charge · Auto-import and auto-categorize bank transactions · Unlimited receipt scanning with OCR · Automatic late payment reminders · Discounted card processing (no per-transaction fee on first 10 transactions/month) |
| Wave Advisors | Custom | Pro plan features · Dedicated bookkeeper · Monthly financial statements · Starts around $149/month ($199/month in Canada) |
Pro is a flat $19/month per business (not per seat) billed monthly, or $190/year billed annually (Canada: $25/month or $250/year); new subscribers get 50% off ($9.50/month) for their first 3 months. Payroll and Wave Advisors bookkeeping are separate add-ons, not included in Pro. Payment processing (2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction, 1% per bank/ACH payment with a $1 minimum) is charged on top of any plan.
Pricing verified July 7, 2026 · source
How Wave's pricing compares
Wave next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | $19/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| QuickBooks | $20/seat/mo | tiered | Trial (30 days (or you can take an intro discount instead of the trial)) | Public |
| Xero | $25/mo | tiered | Trial (1 month free on any plan (US), then the regular monthly price applies) | Public |
| FreshBooks | $23/mo | tiered | Trial (30 days, no credit card required) | Partly public |
| Zoho Books | $15/mo | tiered | Yes | Public |
| Puzzle | $25/mo | tiered | Trial (14 days with full Complete plan access) | Public |
Is Wave still actively developed?
Last significant update: June 2026. Wave launched Tags, letting users label transactions with custom categories (like client or project) and pull a Tags Comparison Report to see profitability beyond the standard chart of accounts.
Top Wave alternatives
Wave FAQ
Is Wave actually free?+
Yes, the Starter plan is free for invoicing, estimates, and manual bookkeeping. You pay per card transaction (2.9% + $0.60) if you accept online payments, and $19/month if you want automatic bank imports and receipt scanning through the Pro plan.
What does Wave Pro cost?+
Wave Pro is $19/month billed monthly, or $190/year billed annually ($25/month or $250/year in Canada), and it covers unlimited users on the account rather than charging per seat.
Does Wave have good customer support?+
Support is a weak point. Free users get no human support, only a chatbot, and some paid users report waits of two weeks or more on urgent issues like frozen payouts. Wave carries an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau and 224 complaints filed against it.