Wave review
by Wave Financial Inc.Small business accounting software
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for small businesses, with bank imports, users and reminders on a $19 Pro plan.
- Free plan
- Self-serve
- Tiered
- Public prices
What you're paying for
- Worth the price (main value)
- Easy to adopt
Invoices, bills and bookkeeping for free, and bank imports, users and reminders for $19 a month per business.
Wave’s free Starter plan has no cap on invoices, estimates, bills or bookkeeping records, so a very small business can keep its books without a subscription. Pro, at $19 a month or $190 a year per business, adds automatic bank imports, auto-categorized transactions, receipt capture, reminders, recurring invoices and invited users. Payments, payroll and a bookkeeping service are sold on top at published rates.
- Unlimited invoices and bills for freeStarter lists unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records at $0, with optional online payments.Evidence: Pricing page (2026-10-16)
- Pro priced per businessThe FAQ says the Pro fee is per business, not per owner, and Pro users can be invited as admins, editors or viewers.Evidence: Pricing page FAQ and plan comparison (2026-10-16)
- Bank imports and auto-categorizing on ProPro imports bank transactions through Plaid and merges and categorizes them automatically; reconciliation is done on the Transactions page.Evidence: Pricing page and reconciliation help article (Internet Archive, Aug 4, 2025)
- Best for
- Freelancers and very small businesses that want free invoicing and bookkeeping, or a low-cost plan with bank imports and a few users.
- Good to know
- Inventory, projects, purchase orders, budgets and an audit log are not listed, and the pages state no SOC 2 or ISO 27001.
How Wave compares
Against 3 other products we reviewed in Small business accounting software: what you pay for with each, the five access facts, the plan limits we recorded and each review's bottom line. The note under the table says how each one was checked.
| Metric | Wave | Zoho Books | QuickBooks Online | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceInvoices, bills and bookkeeping for free, and bank imports, users and reminders for $19 a month per business. | Worth the priceBills, multi-currency, inventory, projects and custom roles on a $50 plan with 5 users, backed by SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001. | Built-in reachFull small business books with payments, payroll and bill pay from one vendor, and a plan ladder from a free tier to 25 users. | Worth the priceAccounting priced per business, not per user, with inventory, purchase orders and bank feeds on every plan. |
| Overall score | 6.7 | 8.2Best | 7.5 | 7.1 |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan | Free plan | 30-day free trial |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | No card needed | Card required |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $19/mo | $20/mo | $38/mo | $27/mo |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Tiered | Tiered | Tiered |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per business per month or year | Per organization per month, in plan tiers; extra users $3/mo each | Per company per month, in plan tiers; no extra seats sold | Per organization per month; no per-user license fees |
| Free option | Free Starter plan (unlimited invoices and bills, no bank import) | Free plan under $50K yearly revenue (1 user + 1 accountant, no bills or bank feeds); 14-day trial | Free plan (1 user, 2 invoices/mo, 1 bank connection); 30-day trial of paid plans | No free plan; one month free with billing details taken at sign-up |
| Reference scenario (3 users, monthly) | $19/mo on Pro, computed | $50/mo on Professional, computed | $85/mo on Essentials, computed | $59/mo on Growing, computed |
| Users per plan | Admins, editors and viewers on Pro; payroll manager and tax pro on all plans | 1 + accountant / 3 / 5 / 10 / 10 / 15; extra users $3/mo ($2.50 yearly) | 1 / 1 / 3 / 5 / 25 (Free to Advanced); 2 or 3 accountants free on paid plans | No per-user fees on any plan |
| Multi-currency | Foreign currency invoices and bills | Professional ($50) and up | Essentials ($85) and up | Established ($97) |
| Inventory and projects | Not listed | Stock tracking and project profitability on Professional ($50) | Plus ($140) and up | Inventory in every plan (Inventory Plus $39/mo); projects on Established |
| Card / bank payment fees | 2.9% + $0.60 (first 10 a month at 2.9% + $0 on Pro) / 1%, $1 minimum | 2.9% + 30¢ / ACH 0.8% capped at $5 (Zoho Payments) | 2.99% / 1% (QuickBooks Payments) | 2.9% + 30¢ / ACH debit 1% capped at $9 (Stripe, managed by Xero) |
| Payroll | $40/mo + $6 per employee and per contractor paid | Zoho Payroll from $39/mo + $6 per employee | Workforce Payroll bundles, e.g. with Essentials $125/mo + $6.50 per employee | Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto: $36/mo + $6 per employee or contractor |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated; Level 1 PCI DSS | SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001 for Zoho cloud services | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022 on the Intuit Trust Center | SOC 2 Type II report on request; ISO/IEC 27001:2022 |
| Custom roles / audit log | Fixed roles that cannot be customized; no audit log described | Custom roles on Professional; activity log on every plan | Custom roles on Advanced; audit log from Essentials | Fixed user roles; History and notes audit trail |
| Data export | Data Export: journal entries and transactions, bills, customers, vendors (XLS or CSV) | Reports to CSV, XLS, XLSX or PDF; API on every plan | Export data tool (reports and lists to Excel); read-only access 1 year after cancelling | Any report exported to Excel or PDF; API |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Wave is the lowest-cost way here to keep small business books: free invoices and bills, and bank imports and users for $19 a month. It lists fewer bookkeeping and security features than the larger suites. | From its public pages, Zoho Books puts the broadest set of bookkeeping and control features at $50 a month, with SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 behind it. Bills start on Professional, and the free plan is limited to businesses under $50K revenue. | From its public pages, QuickBooks Online is a full accounting suite with payments, payroll and bill pay from Intuit and a clear plan ladder. Users are tied to tiers, and inventory and projects start on Plus. | From its public pages, Xero is full small business accounting priced per organization with no per-user fees, with inventory and purchase orders on every plan. Most businesses that pay bills start on Growing, and currencies and projects need Established. |
Evidence: Wave: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Zoho Books: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; QuickBooks Online: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Xero: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
Score
- Pricing clarity
- 9.0 / 10, Excellent
- scenario plan priced; can be bought online; priced per business, no per-user fee stated; the Pro promotion ($9.50 a month for 3 months) is shown, but its terms say it ran from Dec 2, 2025 to Jan 6, 2026
- Free plan and trial
- 7.5 / 10, Good
- free plan, 1 user, no bank feeds, bills, unlimited invoices
- Price for 3 users
- 8.4 / 10, Excellent
- $19/mo: Pro at $19/mo, billed monthly; Starter has no bank imports and no invited admins or editors; Pro is priced per business; assumes invited admins and editors add no fee; the pages state no per-user fee and no user limit
- Bookkeeping depth
- 2.0 / 10, Fair
- multi-currency on the scenario plan; inventory not listed; project profitability not listed; purchase orders not listed; budgets not listed; classes or tracking tags not listed
- Getting paid and payroll
- 9.5 / 10, Excellent
- card rate published; bank payment rate published; recurring invoices on the scenario plan; payment reminders on the scenario plan; payroll price published
- Security, access and data export
- 3.5 / 10, Fair
- no SOC 2 Type II stated; two-factor sign-in; custom roles not listed; audit trail not listed; API; ledger or transaction export
Review
Review from public pages
Written from Wave's public pages (pricing, security or privacy, and docs) as read on Oct 16, 2026. We did not sign up, and no hands-on run is published yet.
What the public pages show
We read Wave's US pricing page with its plan comparison, FAQ and offer terms, the payroll, bank payments and recurring billing pages, the security and privacy page, and help articles on two-factor authentication, foreign-currency invoices and bills, data export, user roles and reconciliation, plus the developer API reference, on Oct 16, 2026; we did not sign up or call the API for this review. Wave's help center and developer portal returned 403 to our fetches, so those articles were read from their latest Internet Archive copies (Jan 2025 to Feb 2026).
The pricing page is short: Starter is free, Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year, and the comparison marks which features need Pro or online payments. Bank imports, invited admins, editors and viewers, reminders and receipt capture are on Pro; invoices, bills and bookkeeping records are unlimited on both plans. The payroll page lists $40 a month plus $6 per employee and per contractor in the US.
One point needs a question to Wave: the pricing page shows Pro at $9.50 a month for the first 3 months, while the offer terms beneath it give dates from Dec 2, 2025 to Jan 6, 2026. The security page names Level 1 PCI DSS; we found no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 statement.
Strengths
- A free plan with no invoice or bill limit
Starter allows unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records with no subscription.
vs Zoho Books: QuickBooks Free allows two invoices a month; Zoho Books Free is for businesses under $50K revenue and has no bills.
- Lowest paid price for 3 users
Pro at $19 a month per business covers bank imports and invited users; $190 a year if paid yearly.
vs Zoho Books: Zoho Books needs Professional ($50) for bills with 3 users; Xero needs Growing ($59).
- Foreign currency invoices and bills
Invoices and bills can be issued in another currency, with unrealized gains or losses tracked until payment.
- Full data export
Data Export sends journal entries and transactions, bills, customers and vendors as XLS or CSV, plus receipts and payroll files.
Things to know
- Bank imports need Pro
Starter records transactions entered by hand; automatic bank imports and auto-categorizing are on Pro.
- Fewer bookkeeping features
The pages list no inventory, project tracking, purchase orders, budgets or class tracking.
- Roles and audit
Users are admins, editors or viewers on Pro and their permissions cannot be customized; the pages describe no audit log.
- Compliance documents
The security page states Level 1 PCI DSS and encryption; it names no SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certificate.
Pricing reality
Wave bills per business: Starter is free and Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year. For our scenario, 3 users with invoices, bills and bank feeds, Starter has no bank imports and no invited admins or editors, so the cheapest fit is Pro at $19 a month at list price (computed); the pages state no per-user fee. On top: card payments at 2.9% + $0.60 (the first 10 a month at 2.9% + $0 on Pro; Amex 3.4%), bank payments at 1% with a $1 minimum, payroll at $40 a month plus $6 per employee and per contractor paid, and Wave Advisors bookkeeping. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the billing period.
Exit path
Business settings has a Data Export that emails links to an accounting file (journal entries and transactions, bills, customers, vendors) as XLS or CSV, a ZIP of receipts and payroll CSVs, one business profile at a time; viewers and editors cannot export. A GraphQL API is documented, and businesses that connect a public integration need Pro.
Compared with
- Pick Wave when
- You want a free plan with unlimited invoices and bills, or Pro at $19 a month.
- Pick FreshBooks when
- You need project profitability, time tracking and free accountant access.
- Pick Wave when
- You want free invoicing and bills with no revenue limit, or the lowest price for 3 users.
- Pick Zoho Books when
- You need inventory, purchase orders, custom roles, an activity log or SOC 2 and ISO 27001.
- Pick Wave when
- You want bills on a free plan and bank imports with several users for $19 a month.
- Pick QuickBooks Online when
- You need multicurrency with an audit log, inventory or more users with custom roles.
Choose it if
- You want invoicing and bookkeeping without a subscription.
- You need bank imports and a few users for $19 a month.
- Your books are simple: no inventory, projects or purchase orders.
Look elsewhere if
- You need inventory, purchase orders, budgets or project costing.
- Your security review asks for a SOC 2 report or ISO 27001.
Bottom line
From its public pages, Wave is the lowest-cost way here to keep small business books: free invoices and bills, and bank imports and users for $19 a month. It lists fewer bookkeeping and security features than the larger suites.
Plan limits at a glance
| Limit | As recorded |
|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per business per month or year |
| Free option | Free Starter plan (unlimited invoices and bills, no bank import) |
| Reference scenario (3 users, monthly) | $19/mo on Pro, computed |
| Users per plan | Admins, editors and viewers on Pro; payroll manager and tax pro on all plans |
| Multi-currency | Foreign currency invoices and bills |
| Inventory and projects | Not listed |
| Card / bank payment fees | 2.9% + $0.60 (first 10 a month at 2.9% + $0 on Pro) / 1%, $1 minimum |
| Payroll | $40/mo + $6 per employee and per contractor paid |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated; Level 1 PCI DSS |
| Custom roles / audit log | Fixed roles that cannot be customized; no audit log described |
| Data export | Data Export: journal entries and transactions, bills, customers, vendors (XLS or CSV) |
Read from the vendor's public pages on Oct 16, 2026. No hands-on run is published yet. How we check
We have not published a sign-up run for Wave yet. The access facts above were read from its sign-up and pricing pages on Oct 16, 2026.
We have not published API calls for Wave yet.
Wave lists 3 plans. The cheapest paid plan, Pro ($190 billed yearly), costs $19/mo.
- WaveFreeStarter$0/moFree
- Unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records
- Online payments at 2.9% + $0.60 per card payment
- Invoices from the mobile app
- Dashboard and reports
- WaveLowest pricePro$19/mo$190 billed yearly; per business
- Automatic bank imports and auto-categorized transactions
- Admin, editor and viewer users
- Payment reminders and recurring invoices
- First 10 card payments a month at 2.9% + $0
- WavePayroll$40/moPlus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid (US)
- Payroll taxes paid and filed
- Direct deposit
- Employee self-service portal
- W-2 and 1099 forms
Prices as listed, USD, excluding tax; observed 2026-10-16.
Source: waveapps.com pricing page. Prices change; the observed date above is when our agent read them.