Wave vs PayPal

QuickBooks Online

Abby

QuickBooks Online is an all-in-one online business software designed to help manage business finances. The platform is built to scale businesses, unlocking insights and providing the functionality of a larger team, all on one integrated platform.

PayPal

PayPal provides an end-to-end suite of tools that can integrate with a business's existing systems and service providers. Its network of shoppers and businesses provides AI-driven data insights to help businesses reach new customers and drive results.

Abby helps businesses ensure that customer documents are legal and comply with the rules. Customers can pay online and receive reminders for late payments.


Owner

Customer support has become nearly non-existent and there is no way to reliably address errors or questions.

With Wave's comprehensive, free and unlimited invoicing tools, you can send invoices, keep track of who owes what, send reminders and more.

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting

Accounting Integration

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

ACH Payment Processing

Activity Dashboard

Activity Tracking

Alerts/Notifications

Automatic Billing

Bank Reconciliation

Billing & Invoicing

Budgeting/Forecasting

Cash Flow Management

Cash Management

Chart of Accounts

Collaboration Tools

Commission Management

CPA Firms

Credit Card Processing

Currency Conversion

Customer Statements

Customizable Branding

Customizable Templates

Dashboard

Data Import/Export

Data Security

Direct Deposit

Electronic Payments

Email Reminders

Encryption

Estimating

Expense Tracking

Financial Analysis

Financial Management

Financial Reporting

Fixed Asset Management

For Legal Professionals

For Medical Purposes

For Real Estate

For Religious Organizations

For Small Businesses

Fund Accounting

General Ledger

Income & Balance Sheet

Inventory Management

Invoice Creation

Invoice History

Invoice Management

Invoice Processing

Mobile App

Multi-Currency

Online Invoicing

Partial Payments

Payment Reconciliation

Payment Tracking

Payroll Management

Payroll Reporting

PCI Compliance

Profit/Loss Statement

Project Accounting

Projections

Purchase Order Management

Real-Time Notifications

Real-Time Updates

Receipt Management

Receivables Ledger

Recurring Invoicing

Recurring/Subscription Billing

Reminders

Remote Access/Control

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Revenue Recognition

Sales Tax Management

Spend Management

SSL Security

Status Tracking

Tax Compliance

Tax Filing

Tax Management

Third-Party Integrations

Time & Expense Tracking

Transaction History

Transaction Management

Reviews for Wave come from a wide variety of industries, including Marketing and Advertising (11% of reviewers), Accounting (6%), and Information Technology and Services (5%). The most frequent use case for Wave cited by reviewers is billing and invoicing (61% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Most reviewers indicate Wave offers strong value for money, especially for freelancers and small businesses, and they appreciate the generous free tier. However, some users report paid plans are expensive and advanced features require upgrades.

Value for money

The Wave integration most frequently cited by reviewers is PayPal, a payment processing product rated 4.1 out of 5 for its integration with Wave.

Integrations

Wave is a billing and invoicing program offering key features such as invoice creation, invoice history, online invoicing, and expense tracking, among others.

Wave

Web-based

iPhone

Android

FreshBooks

QuickBooks Enterprise

Xero

QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Online Advanced

Zoho Invoice

Zoho Books

Sage Accounting

Invoicely

Mint

Stripe

HoneyBook

Quicken

FreeAgent

Gusto

Starter

Recurring software glitches

Office Manager

Having any kind of issue resolved through speaking to support is unfathomably difficult.

51% of reviewers feel negative about Bugs and Issues. Some users report encountering persistent bugs, glitches, and unresolved technical problems. They say issues can range from minor annoyances to significant disruptions, such as errors in closing periods or problems with specific features. Reviewers mention that fixes are slow to arrive, and support often fails to address their concerns effectively. Users express frustration with the need for manual workarounds and the impact on their workflow.

Slow loading and lag issues

Manager

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.

82% of reviewers feel negative about Performance and Speed. Some users say the software often loads slowly, especially during peak times or when handling large amounts of data. Reviewers report frequent lag, occasional freezing, and crashes that disrupt their workflow. They mention that navigation between screens can be sluggish, and saving transactions sometimes takes longer than expected. Users with slower internet connections or those using the mobile app experience additional delays and responsiveness problems.

Delayed and limited email support

The lack of communication, inability to even contact anyone except an AI chat bot, and lack or response to tickets is asinine.  

If you need support you will be waiting over 2 days for a reply, after somehow getting through the bot to get to submit a ticket.

67% of reviewers feel negative about Email Support. Reviewers indicate that support is primarily available via email or chat, with no phone option, leading to long wait times for responses. They say it can take days or even weeks to resolve issues, and automated replies or unhelpful chatbot interactions are common. Users express frustration with the lack of real-time assistance, especially when urgent problems arise. Some note that follow-up and resolution are inconsistent, making support unreliable.

Unresponsive customer service

53% of reviewers feel negative about Customer Support. Some users report difficulty reaching live agents and dissatisfaction with slow or incomplete responses. They say support is limited for free users, and direct phone contact is unavailable. Reviewers mention unresolved issues, lack of transparency, and inconsistent help from the support team. They express concern about the reliability of assistance, especially when dealing with sensitive matters like payments or account access.

Unreliable bank syncing

Massage Therapist

The auto upload of transactions by connecting a bank account did not work for me, so I had to manually upload statements which was time consuming.

Human Resources Officer 

No automatic bank reconciliation: Wave Accounting does not allow automatic bank reconciliation, which can be a cumbersome task for companies that have many transactions to manage.

49% of reviewers feel negative about Bank Account Integration. Some users say bank connections frequently fail, requiring repeated re-authentication or manual uploads of statements. Reviewers mention that automatic transaction syncing is inconsistent, leading to errors or duplicate entries. They express frustration with the lack of support for certain banks, delays in fund transfers, and the absence of seamless reconciliation. Users note that these issues make managing finances more time-consuming and error-prone.

Intuitive and clean design

Studio Photographer

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.

92% of reviewers feel positive about User Interface. Users think the interface is visually appealing, modern, and easy to navigate, even for those without technical backgrounds. They appreciate the organized dashboard, which presents key financial information clearly. Reviewers indicate that the minimalist layout and intuitive menus help them quickly find features and complete tasks. They also value the mobile accessibility and the consistent updates that improve usability and maintain a fresh look.

Quick setup and simplicity

Vice President

Wave Accounting is very easy to set up and understand, although we do not use all of the features available.

96% of reviewers feel positive about Ease of Use. Reviewers indicate the software is straightforward to set up, requiring minimal time and technical knowledge. They say the intuitive design and clear instructions help them get started quickly, even without extensive tutorials. Users appreciate being able to manage multiple businesses or clients easily and find the platform accessible for both beginners and those with limited accounting experience. They note that the simplicity does not compromise functionality, making daily tasks and ongoing management efficient and stress-free.

Tailored for small businesses

For small business owners, freelancers, or entrepreneurs, this means you can manage your accounting, invoicing, and expense tracking without a subscription fee.

95% of reviewers feel positive about Small Business Use. Some users say the software is ideal for freelancers, startups, and small businesses needing essential accounting features without high costs. They appreciate the free or low-cost access, which helps keep overhead low. Reviewers mention that the platform fits a variety of business types and allows for easy tracking of income, expenses, and financial reports. They value the flexibility to manage multiple businesses and the convenience of cloud access for on-the-go management.

Partner

The starter edition is free which is awesome, you are able to process payroll, invoice clients and perform monthly accounting at no cost.  

I am able to track my spending with categories, as well, and that makes it easier to do my taxes at the end of each year.

President

This breaks a core bookkeeping workflow: providing detailed expense records to a CPA for tax filing.

Sr. Accountant

It is a pretty basic tool and only offers simple things like tracking cash, expenses, submitting invoices and generating simple reports.

Principal

Easy to input information and create my own financial Reports, and my accountant has no issues with importing my entries over for his own purposes to prepare my company’s yearly Return

Founder and CEO

The main thing I don't like about Wave is that they don't use standardized "GAAP terminology" for some of their financial management and reporting features. While this may make it more accessible to a certain user base, it actually makes it a bit confusing for me (who has a bit of formal CPA / accounting training).

IT Consultant

Like most multi-feature accounting solutions, it can be a bit much to navigate through all of the areas, when you are only interested in one aspect of the site.

The auto-import for my bank transactions has not been working for a while, and although Wave Customer Support did what they could, I wish this could be more easily resolved.

Managing Principal

The Wave bookkeeping method was not intuitive - listing out every possible account you can possibly add as well as CASH ON HAND - an account that is a default and has no real application.

Executive Director

We can't even look at the payroll summary to see what we owe employees so we can write them a check. And there's no way to get in touch with customer support and now we're scrambling to figure out another payroll service to figure this out.

Property Management, Development and Investment

Love the UI and wanted it to be a viable alternative to the other players in the bookkeeping/accounting market but it fell far short and failed in it’s current itteration.

Coach and Consultant

I'm not clear on whether it's my bank or Wave that's the issue, but a couple of times, the integration stopped working then started working again, and this resulted in some duplicate entries that had to be cleared out.

Co-Owner

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.

For a small business needing invoice generation and payment tracking, Wave works really well.

The only export remaining is a summarized P&L, which is not a substitute for transaction detail in many cases.

If you don’t need customer support, wave is a great option for small business book keeping and payment services.

Administrative Consultant

Even though the version I had was free, I didn’t like that I couldn’t take off their logo on my invoices without paying for a higher tier plan.

Wave removed transaction level CSV export from free accounts and did not disclose the change.

Logistic manager

I used it for more than 5 years and it help me a lot for my daily tasks as invoice customers , purchase in and accounting  accounting tax statement

Graphic Designer

Even if you don’t have an accounting background, it’s relatively easy to connect bank accounts, categorize expenses, and generate reports.

For us, we had issues with how Wave was filing our taxes, and now Wave is adding non-removeable journal entries that are corrupting our income statement and balance sheet.

I use Wave for my accounting and invoicing software.

Principal Recruiter

Love the fact that you can do payroll, invoicing, payment by credit card and taxes all in 1 solution for small business

Owner - Manager

For a small business having a payroll program that's affordable and manageable while they take care of remittances and off boarding.

I bookkeep for two small businesses and the fact that is free is my favorite feature.

It is easy to use, looks up to date, it has great pricing and also has a phone app that makes things easy like applying payments and checking invoices when out and about.

Everything is bogged down and takes even longer to load. When I logged in to run our payroll, I was prompted to update tax info for all our employees.

Dentist Owner

However since 2025, PDF version of reports were disabled, employees' pay dropped without any indication why, tax liability didn't  pay.

Engineer

It makes professional invoicing and bookkeeping stress-free.

Small Business Cash Flow Strategist

It's a great accounting system for those on a low cost budget who don't have many needs for customization or high level tracking.

Wave vs PayPal Comparison (2026)

Wave

PayPal

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives