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Wave

Accounting, invoicing, and payroll management platform

Last updated: April 2025

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Wave - 2025 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

All user reviews are verified by in-house moderators and provider data by our software research team. Learn more

Last updated: April 2025

What is Wave?

Wave is an integrated solution designed for small businesses. With our automatic bank connections, information flows into Wave, without manual entry. Users can collaborate with accountants or bookkeepers in real-time.

Teams can use Wave’s invoicing tools to collect money and choose templates that reflect their business, including logos and colors for invoices. Users can send invoices via email and collect credit card payments through payment processing. Wave’s Payroll tools in America and Canada offer direct deposit and employee self-service.

Wave’s personal finance tools assist with budgeting, real time investment tracking, and more.

Benefits of using Wave

Wave helps small business owners.

What you will see is all the tools you need to gain better insights into your personal and business finances, all with one login. Whether it’s invoicing, payroll, or personal investment tracking, the days of multiple logins are in the past. And with accounting and invoicing tools and payroll, getting organized has never been more affordable.

Get paid faster, gain insights into your businesses financial health, know where your money goes and pay your employees, all with Wave.

Starting from

Per month

Alternatives with better value for money

Wave’s pros and cons based on 1,685 verified reviews

To identify what users like and dislike about Wave, our data scientists apply advanced modeling techniques to our proprietary reviews data. We've sorted the resulting list of pros and cons based on the percentage of users who expressed positive sentiment toward the given topic in their reviews.

To determine these pros and cons insights, we analyzed responses from 1,685 verified reviews

Affordable for small businesses

94% of reviewers feel positive about Wave's small business accounting. Reviewers appreciate the affordability and the range of essential accounting features provided for free. They find it suitable for freelancers, small businesses, and startups, allowing them to manage finances without incurring high costs. Users also value the ability to connect bank accounts and credit cards, run various financial reports, and access the platform online from anywhere.

See related user reviews

“I have been using Wave for our small business bookkeeping for the past five or six years and love the ability to connect my bank accounts and credit cards and run weekly, monthly, and yearly reports.”

Brigitte Chapman

Co-Owner

“Wave is free and is perfect for freelancers and small businesses, it provides its users with all the features and functionalities necessary for managing their business accounts.”

Angelique Green

Production Coordinator

Intuitive and modern interface

93% of reviewers feel positive about Wave's user interface. Reviewers indicate that the interface is user-friendly, visually appealing, and easy to navigate. They find it intuitive for beginners and appreciate the modern design, which makes managing administrative tasks straightforward. Users also note that the interface is regularly updated, enhancing their overall experience.

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“Wave Apps software features not only very beautiful interfaces for their products' dashboard, but the platform is at once very feature-heavy and thoughtfully well designed.”

Spencer Imbrock

Studio Photographer

“The user-friendly interface of Wave is incredibly intuitive, making it easy for me to accomplish the tasks I need without any confusion.”

Fu-Chieh Yao

Email Developer

Excellent Value for Small Businesses

93% of reviewers feel positive about Wave's value for money/pricing. Reviewers appreciate the free version with essential accounting features. Users find it beneficial for managing finances without significant costs. They say the software is user-friendly and customizable. Some users report the paid version is affordable with additional features.

See related user reviews

“It offers a goof number of features to digitize a start-up or a small business, offers a free version good for training, its affordable so will not affect your capital when starting up, fits in almost all businesses, its easily customizable to fit your preference.”

Julius Kihara

Accountant

“Wave Accounting offers a range of essential accounting features for free, making it an affordable option for small businesses on a tight budget.”

Pavan Lipare

Co-Founder

Comprehensive invoicing features

91% of reviewers feel positive about Wave's invoicing capabilities. Reviewers find the invoicing features highly useful, allowing them to create, customize, and send professional invoices easily. They appreciate the ability to set up recurring invoices, send payment reminders, and integrate with bank accounts for seamless payment tracking. Users also value the mobile app for invoicing on the go.

See related user reviews

“I can connect my bank, raise great-looking sales invoices, auto-chase bill payments as well as create cash-flow forecasts, all without spending a penny. ”

Thomas Pike

Practice Manager

“I like that I can connect easily connect to see my current bank balances, create & send invoices, record payments, run reports, and send reminders.”

Fiona Prince

Communications & Behavioural Consultant

Effective bookkeeping solution

89% of reviewers feel positive about Wave's bookkeeping software. Reviewers highlight the software's ability to streamline bookkeeping tasks, such as tracking expenses, reconciling accounts, and generating financial reports. They appreciate the free access to comprehensive bookkeeping tools and the ease of use, which helps them manage their finances efficiently without needing extensive accounting knowledge.

See related user reviews

“This allowed us to not only get started with basic bookkeeping but it does integrate with our bank and our payroll processor so it limits the amount of manual work having to be done! ”

Deborah Shapiro

Managing Member

“It has been helpful as a small business owner to have free access to comprehensive bookkeeping software as well as an abundance of instruction via printable guides.”

Kelly Bartle-Bush

LCSW-R

Slow performance and load times

66% of reviewers feel negative about Wave's performance speed. Users report that the software can be slow to load, with long wait times for pages to respond. They find the interface sluggish, especially when navigating between screens or handling large amounts of data. Some users also mention frequent crashes and slow customer support response times.

See related user reviews

“The dashboard panels are slow to navigate around with long load times. If you can handle the 20 second+ load times on a screen, it does the job.”

Ben Henderson

Manager

“The website can be slow at times and when you go to categorize your transactions, it can take quite a while depending on how many you have.”

Jeffery Sill

Owner

Ineffective email communication

63% of reviewers feel negative about Wave's email communication. Users express frustration with the lack of timely responses to email inquiries and the reliance on automated replies. They find the email support insufficient for resolving urgent issues and prefer having more direct communication options, such as phone support.

See related user reviews

“Nothing is setup and the notice that you should receive a email from their support center is only non existent but when you follow the link and create a ticket my experience is that it goes to an un-monitored email box.”

Randy Rosario

Graphic Designer

“I saw the COVID tax numbers change in the online records, but I don't know if they submitted a refund request. Despite several email inquiries, I can't get a response as to if they are applying for the refund or not. And you cannot talk to anyone.”

Rebecca Summers

owner

Limited customer support options

58% of reviewers feel negative about Wave's customer support. Reviewers criticize the limited support options, noting the absence of phone support and the slow response times for chat and email inquiries. They find the support team unhelpful and unresponsive, particularly for users outside the US and Canada. Some users also mention the need to pay for premium support services.

See related user reviews

“Wave has limited customer support options. While the platform offers extensive help documentation, I found that getting direct support through chat or phone was not always fast or readily available.”

Elvis Owora

Audit Associate

“the annoying thing is I'm out side USA/Canada wave team don't want to support us in future so forcing to move to another platform.”

Hammad Hassan

Network Engineer

Unresolved software issues

57% of reviewers feel negative about Wave's handling of issues and fixes. Users report encountering bugs and glitches that remain unresolved for extended periods. They express dissatisfaction with the lack of timely updates and fixes, leading to ongoing frustrations with the software's functionality. Some users also mention difficulties in getting effective support for resolving these issues.

See related user reviews

“There are workarounds that I use weekly to overcome these errors, but Wave has not fixed the errors nor published a timeline for their resolution for months.”

Perry Skorcz

Property Manager

“I am not able to use Zapier with Stripe until they update their systems and this has taken months so far.”

Jesse Clark

Owner

Challenging bank reconciliation

56% of reviewers feel negative about Wave's bank reconciliation process. Users find the lack of automatic bank reconciliation cumbersome, especially for businesses with numerous transactions. They report issues with transaction duplication, discrepancies in exchange rates, and difficulties in matching transactions with bank statements. Some users also mention the absence of reconciliation reports and the need for manual adjustments.

See related user reviews

“It overwrites actual exchange rates of the transactions you get at the bank with it's own historical rates which results in major discrepancies in your numbers. If you do any business in more than one currency then I'd stay away of Wave at this point. ”

Tom Korzen

“Entering transactions is easy enough, but the interface is slow to switch between screens and reconciliation becomes more challenging when splitting transactions between multiple accounts as the software actually splits the transaction in half (so the total no longer matches your bank statement total). ”

Jake Douglas

Vice President

Wave's key features

GetApp's analysis of 190 verified user reviews collected between July 2021 and December 2024 identified Wave's most critical features and how it performs according to users.

Invoice Creation

4.7

Reviewers appreciate Wave's invoice creation capabilities for their simplicity and efficiency. They find it easy to create, duplicate, and send invoices, even on the go. Users highlight the ability to customize invoices with logos and branding, and the professional appearance of the invoices. They value the option to send reminders, manage recurring invoices, and automatically log payments. Users also mention the convenience of creating invoices from quotes and the ability to handle multiple currencies. Of the 86 Wave users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Invoice Creation, 100% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“I use Wave for all my invoicing and fir estimates and quotes. They make it very easy to create, duplicate and send invoices with the ability to collect money remotely.”

Curtis Gore

“I do all of my invoicing through Wave. It's simple to add new clients, has the option to download or send directly to the client, can send reminders at set points, and automatically logs the payments in the transaction record.”

Jasmine Lee

Event Consultant

Invoice History

4.5

Reviewers indicate that Wave's invoice history aspect is valuable for tracking and managing past invoices. They appreciate the ability to filter invoices by various criteria such as year, product, and customer. Users find it helpful for financial reporting, record-keeping, and reviewing payment statuses. They also highlight the ease of accessing past invoices for tax purposes and the ability to duplicate previous invoices. Some users mention the need for improved search functionality. Of the 61 Wave users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Invoice History, 100% rated this feature as important or highly important.

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“I love that I can look back at the full history of a clients purchases and that i can filter to have all the invoices of their lifetime with us show up, this is a quick way to view their overall purchases, the products they have purchased, how frequently etc. I love the fact that the invoices do not get archived, which could then be a hassle withdrawing them from archives, but that they are always just a click away.”

Ulyn Van zyl

CEO - Uvanco pty ltd

“You can filter invoices according to year, product, customer, paid, unpaid. This invoice history is really helpful in tracking orders and payment, as well as for financial reporting.”

Dedre Muller

CEO

Online Invoicing

4.7

Users report that Wave's online invoicing feature simplifies the billing process by allowing invoices to be sent directly via email. They appreciate the ability to accept online payments, track invoice statuses, and send automatic reminders. Reviewers find it convenient to create and send invoices from mobile devices and value the notifications for invoice views and overdue payments. They also mention the professional appearance of the invoices and the ease of managing digital records. Of the 83 Wave users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Online Invoicing, 99% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“Some great things I really like about online invoicing in Wave Accouting are you're able to accept online payments, track all your income records, and bill customers at ease even by email.”

Kalina Bayanoff

Human Services

“Online invoicing makes getting paid easier than ever. Clients receive my invoice within minutes and I have the option to send reminders. ”

Daniela Kunie

Freelance translator

Billing & Invoicing

4.6

Reviewers feel that Wave's billing and invoicing characteristics are user-friendly and efficient. They highlight the ability to create professional-looking invoices and estimates, track payments, and manage recurring billing. Users appreciate the integration with online payment options and the reminders for overdue invoices. They also value the ability to customize invoice templates and the seamless process of converting estimates to invoices. Some users mention the need for more flexible templates. Of the 79 Wave users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Billing & Invoicing, 92% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“I run a small construction company and it was very easy to start generating professional looking estimates/bids and invoices. I really like that estimates and invoices are created in the same way, and that you can convert an estimate to an invoice if you end up doing the work. The templates aren't super flexible, but you can add logos, header, footer, etc. and adjust the colors to match your brand.”

Rowan Miller

Owner

“Seamless billing and invoicing including the ability to track both your creditors and debtors effectively. It even sends you reminders when bills are due.”

Arthur Rametsi

CEO

Bank Reconciliation

4.3

Reviewers indicate that Wave's bank reconciliation aspect is helpful for ensuring accurate financial records. They appreciate the ability to sync bank statements automatically or manually upload them for reconciliation. Users find the process easy and accurate, and they value the integration with bank accounts. Some users mention issues with maintaining direct connections to banks and the need for improved search functionality. Overall, they find it useful for double-checking transactions and preparing for taxes. Of the 34 Wave users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Bank Reconciliation, 85% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“A bank reconciliation feature that works correctly is a critical part of any accounting system. Wave's gets the job done.”

Sonny Peak

Owner

“Easy to Reconcile your bank statements. The software can integrate with your bank account making this really easy and accurate.”

Evan Overbay

Executive Director

Expense Tracking

4.4

Users report that Wave's expense tracking feature is effective for managing business expenses. They appreciate the ability to upload receipts, categorize expenses, and track them in real-time. Reviewers find it helpful for budgeting and financial reporting, and they value the integration with bank accounts for automatic transaction categorization. Some users mention the removal of certain capabilities, such as auto-filling expenses from receipts, and the need for more customizable reports. Overall, they find it easy to use and beneficial for keeping accurate expense records. Of the 43 Wave users who gave detailed accounts of their use of Expense Tracking, 81% rated this feature as important or highly important.

See related user reviews

“Wave captures very well all the data and catergorizes them in order for the user to have a clear view on the expenses and where those occured. ”

Vasileios Sakarelos

Head of Business Development and Operations

“It auto syncs with my bank accounts and can auto categorize many of my transactions making my part a little less work”

Josh Walker

Owner

All Wave features

Features rating:

4.2

(1.6K)

Data Security

4.7

(19)

Partial Payments

4.3

(3)

Payroll Reporting

2.0

(4)

PCI Compliance

4.4

(8)

Reminders

4.7

(3)

Tax Compliance

1.0

(4)

For Small Businesses

4.7

(24)

Reporting/Analytics

4.9

(18)

Accounting

4.5

(52)

Profit/Loss Statement

4.5

(39)

Invoice Processing

4.6

(111)

Income & Balance Sheet

4.6

(116)

Activity Dashboard

4.7

(37)

Status Tracking

4.4

(12)

Customizable Templates

4.0

(6)

Financial Reporting

4.4

(239)

Data Import/Export

4.3

(25)

Accounts Receivable

4.5

(116)

Electronic Payments

4.4

(23)

General Ledger

4.2

(169)

Alerts/Notifications

4.7

(34)

Reporting & Statistics

4.4

(25)

Invoice Management

4.6

(44)

Receipt Management

4.4

(44)

Access Controls/Permissions

4.7

(19)

Customer Statements

4.9

(10)

Customizable Branding

4.5

(32)

ACH Payment Processing

4.2

(19)

Accounts Payable

4.3

(112)

Sales Tax Management

4.0

(4)

Accounting Integration

4.3

(53)

Recurring/Subscription Billing

4.4

(42)

Payroll Management

3.7

(41)

Tax Management

4.2

(33)

Project Accounting

3.1

(17)

Third-Party Integrations

3.5

(12)

Time & Expense Tracking

3.9

(35)

Financial Management

4.1

(20)

Budgeting/Forecasting

3.8

(38)

Mobile App

3.5

(2)

Credit Card Processing

4.5

(18)

For Real Estate

3.0

(2)

Recurring Invoicing

4.0

(1)

Automatic Billing

4.0

(19)

Multi-Currency

3.7

(60)

Inventory Management

3.5

(13)

Fund Accounting

4.2

(11)

Purchase Order Management

3.8

(12)

Fixed Asset Management

2.9

(13)

Activity Tracking

(0)

Remote Access/Control

(0)

Revenue Recognition

(0)

Spend Management

(0)

SSL Security

(0)

Transaction History

(0)

Transaction Management

(0)

Receivables Ledger

5.0

(2)

Real-Time Updates

(0)

Real-Time Notifications

(0)

Cash Flow Management

(0)

Cash Management

4.0

(2)

Payment Reconciliation

(0)

Collaboration Tools

(0)

Commission Management

(0)

CPA Firms

2.7

(3)

Currency Conversion

(0)

For Religious Organizations

3.0

(1)

For Medical Purposes

(0)

For Legal Professionals

(0)

Financial Analysis

(0)

Estimating

(0)

Email Reminders

(0)

Wave awards

Wave alternatives

Wave

4.4

(1.6K)

Starting from

Per month

Free trial

Free version

Ease of Use

4.5

Features

4.2

Value for Money

4.6

Customer Support

4.0

QuickBooks Enterprise

4.5

(20.7K)

visit website

Starting from

2210

Per year

Free trial

Free version

Ease of Use

4.3

Features

4.4

Value for Money

4.3

Customer Support

4.2

TimeSolv Legal Billing

4.7

(653)

visit website

Starting from

47.50

Per month

Free trial

Free version

Ease of Use

4.6

Features

4.6

Value for Money

4.7

Customer Support

4.8

Stripe Billing

4.7

(169)

visit website

Starting from

No pricing info

Free trial

Free version

Ease of Use

4.6

Features

4.6

Value for Money

4.5

Customer Support

4.6

Wave pricing

Starting from

Per month

Flat Rate

Pricing details

Subscription

Free trial

Free plan

Pricing range

view pricing plans

User opinions about Wave price and value

Value for money rating:

4.6

Of 447 reviews that provide robust commentary on Wave's price and value, 93% mention it in a positive light.

Most reviewers indicate that Wave offers excellent value for money, especially for small businesses and startups. They appreciate the free version, which includes essential accounting features such as invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting. Users find the free tier highly beneficial, allowing them to manage their finances without incurring significant costs. They also note that the software is user-friendly and customizable, making it accessible even for those with minimal accounting experience. Some users mention that the paid version is still affordable and offers additional features like payroll and tax advisory services.

However, some reviewers feel that the pricing for advanced features and support can be high. They report that the lack of multiple pricing plans limits scalability, and the costs for payment processing and mobile receipt scanning can add up. A few users also express dissatisfaction with customer support, noting that it is only available with a paid subscription and can be unresponsive at times. Despite these drawbacks, the majority of users still find Wave to be a cost-effective solution for their accounting needs.

Check .

To see what individual users think of Wave's cost and value, check out the review excerpts below.

“They have a free version (you only pay fees on money transfers, credit cards, etc) so this is a good option for small businesses on tight budgets.”

Glendon Haddix

Owner

“It's got pro features that let you run payroll, there's even a mobile app for every bit of your accounting needs, very customizable, easy to jump right into and learn, and has a free version or if you want to go pro version it's still extremely in-expensive.”

John Thielemier

Founder/ Operations Leader/ Head Honcho

“the software is bit expensive for small business due to monthly charges and this may reduce on their ROI however packages for small business should be designed to cater for their needs”

nabasirye ritah

sales representative

Wave integrations (47)

Integrations rated by users

We looked through 1,685 user reviews, to identify which products are mentioned as Wave integrations, and what is the users perception.

PayPal

Integration rating: 4.3 (7)

“It's good for international clients who pay in different currencies. Fast and efficient.”

Kristina Botsu

Therapist

Zapier

Integration rating: 4.6 (5)

“Because it allows me to connect my calendar booking software and wave to create customers automatically, saving me a lot of time,”

Jonathan McLernon

Business

Google Sheets

Integration rating: 4.5 (2)

“Database of customers, download transactions and reports for more robust analysis.”

Dedre Muller

CEO

Square Point of Sale

Integration rating: 5.0 (2)

“Nice for transactions for transfer offer successfully without having to manually put them in.”

Veronica Tortorello

CSC

Mailchimp

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

“Email marketing to customers already in our database and lead generation, for potential customers.”

Dedre Muller

CEO

Gmail

Integration rating: 4.9 (7)

Stripe

Integration rating: 5.0 (2)

Microsoft Outlook

Integration rating: 5.0 (2)

Microsoft Excel

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

HubSpot CRM

Integration rating: 4.0 (1)

Zoho Mail

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Shoeboxed

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Plaid

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Wave support options

Typical customers

Freelancers

Small businesses

Mid size businesses

Large enterprises

Platforms supported

Web

Android

iPhone/iPad

Support options

FAQs/Forum

Email/Help Desk

Chat

Knowledge Base

Training options

Live Online

Videos

Webinars

Documentation

In Person

Wave reviews

Overall rating

4.4

1.6K

Positive reviews

Rating breakdown

Value for money
Ease of use
Features
Customer support
Likelihood to recommend8.73/10

Rating distribution

442

103

Pros

“The interface is user-friendly and has a comprehensive set of features that can elevate any small business to great success.”

Verified reviewer

Anonymity request

“It's a great software and works well for my basic use case as a solopreneur. The payments feature is also nice and the reporting is great.”

Verified reviewer

Anonymity request

“I thought it was going to be great when I saw that it functioned with Etsy. And I loved that it is free.”

Sarzh K.

Digital Artist

Cons

“I am not able to write off a partly paid bill as bad debt if all attempts to reclaim the payment from my clients fail. Sometimes, people pay about 70% and fail to pay for the rest.”

James K.

Research Manager

“It can be glitchy at times. I had problems with my transactions imported from my connected bank account, and then when I tried to remove the account and re-connect it, I received error messages.”

Jessica H.

Photographer

“Then, January of 2021, Paypal import was abandoned. Without those 2 features, the software is essentially useless since it creates extra work each month.”