Wave
Free accounting and invoicing built for solopreneurs, not accountants
What is Wave?
Wave is a small-business accounting and invoicing platform aimed at owners without accounting backgrounds, offering a forever-free Starter tier alongside a paid Pro plan. Free features cover unlimited invoicing, estimates, bills, and bookkeeping; Pro adds bank feed auto-import, automatic categorization, receipt capture, and reduced payment processing fees. Wave is PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant and used by millions of solo operators.
Accounting, FP&A, billing, spend management, bookkeeping, and finance automation tools.
See the full Finance & Accounting guide to compare more tools, buyer criteria, and related workflows.
Use cases to evaluate
Side-hustle freelancer sending unlimited invoices and accepting card payments without a monthly fee
Single-owner LLC tracking income and expenses for a Schedule C and pulling year-end reports
Contractor scanning receipts on mobile and reconciling auto-imported bank transactions on Pro
Solo consultant adding Wave Payroll to run a self-paycheck and remit taxes in supported states
Fit to evaluate
Pre-revenue and early-stage solo founders who can't justify $30+/mo software
Freelancers and 1099 contractors in the US and Canada
Microbusinesses with under ~10 invoices a month
Side-business owners needing clean books at tax time on a zero-budget
Business fit
Right for you if you're a freelancer, contractor, or single-owner business that wants real double-entry books and professional invoices without paying for software you barely use. Skip if you need inventory, multi-user role permissions beyond a couple of people, project profitability, or an ecosystem of third-party apps; QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho Books outgrow Wave quickly. Also skip if your country isn't supported for Wave Payments or Payroll.
How to evaluate Wave
Use this category when finance work depends on spreadsheets, manual reconciliation, or slow reporting.
Confirm the exact workflow
Map Wave to one concrete workflow first, such as side-hustle freelancer sending unlimited invoices and accepting card payments without a monthly fee. Avoid buying before the owner, trigger, output, and success metric are clear.
Check category fit
Compare accounting workflows, approvals, reconciliation, reporting, and audit trails.
Compare practical alternatives
Shortlist Wave against CostAllocation Pro, FreshBooks, Sage so the decision is based on fit, effort, and workflow ownership rather than brand recognition alone.
Validate cost and rollout effort
Starter: free (unlimited invoices/bills/bookkeeping). Pro: $19/mo or $190/yr (currently $9.50/mo for first 3 months). Payments: 2.9% + $0.60 per card (3.4% + $0.60 Amex); Pro waives the $0.60 on first 10 card transactions each month. Add-ons: Receipts $8-$11/mo, Payroll from $25/mo, Wave Advisors bookkeeping $149-$199/mo+. Also confirm implementation time, support needs, and whether the medium setup matches your team.
Compare Wave with alternatives
Use this quick comparison before booking demos or moving data into a new system.
| Primary workflow | Side-hustle freelancer sending unlimited invoices and accepting card payments without a monthly fee, Single-owner LLC tracking income and expenses for a Schedule C and pulling year-end reports |
|---|---|
| Best-fit team | Pre-revenue and early-stage solo founders who can't justify $30+/mo software, Freelancers and 1099 contractors in the US and Canada |
| Implementation effort | Medium setup and maintenance profile |
| Pricing check | Free plan + paid plans |
| Closest alternatives | CostAllocation ProFreshBooksSageZoho Books |
Wave pricing
| Model | Free plan + paid plans |
|---|---|
| Snapshot | Starter: free (unlimited invoices/bills/bookkeeping). Pro: $19/mo or $190/yr (currently $9.50/mo for first 3 months). Payments: 2.9% + $0.60 per card (3.4% + $0.60 Amex); Pro waives the $0.60 on first 10 card transactions each month. Add-ons: Receipts $8-$11/mo, Payroll from $25/mo, Wave Advisors bookkeeping $149-$199/mo+. |
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Common questions about Wave
What is Wave?
Wave is a small-business accounting and invoicing platform aimed at owners without accounting backgrounds, offering a forever-free Starter tier alongside a paid Pro plan. Free features cover unlimited invoicing, estimates, bills, and bookkeeping; Pro adds bank feed auto-import, automatic categorization, receipt capture, and reduced payment processing fees. Wave is PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant and used by millions of solo operators.
What is Wave used for?
Common use cases: Side-hustle freelancer sending unlimited invoices and accepting card payments without a monthly fee; Single-owner LLC tracking income and expenses for a Schedule C and pulling year-end reports; Contractor scanning receipts on mobile and reconciling auto-imported bank transactions on Pro; Solo consultant adding Wave Payroll to run a self-paycheck and remit taxes in supported states.
How much does Wave cost?
Starter: free (unlimited invoices/bills/bookkeeping). Pro: $19/mo or $190/yr (currently $9.50/mo for first 3 months). Payments: 2.9% + $0.60 per card (3.4% + $0.60 Amex); Pro waives the $0.60 on first 10 card transactions each month. Add-ons: Receipts $8-$11/mo, Payroll from $25/mo, Wave Advisors bookkeeping $149-$199/mo+.
Who is Wave best for?
Wave fits Pre-revenue and early-stage solo founders who can't justify $30+/mo software, Freelancers and 1099 contractors in the US and Canada, Microbusinesses with under ~10 invoices a month, Side-business owners needing clean books at tax time on a zero-budget. Right for you if you're a freelancer, contractor, or single-owner business that wants real double-entry books and professional invoices without paying for software you barely use. Skip if you need inventory, multi-user role permissions beyond a couple of people, project profitability, or an ecosystem of third-party apps; QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho Books outgrow Wave quickly. Also skip if your country isn't supported for Wave Payments or Payroll.
What are alternatives to Wave?
Common alternatives to Wave include CostAllocation Pro, FreshBooks, Sage, Zoho Books, Bench, Pilot.