Wave review
Free accounting for freelancers and micro-businesses, with thin features and payment hold complaints
Wave is a free accounting tool for freelancers and micro-businesses, with unlimited invoices, bills and bookkeeping records on its Starter plan and ratings of 4.3 on G2 and 4.4 on Capterra, scoring 6.5/10 in this Wave review. Bank import needs the $19 per month Pro plan, inventory, project tracking and deep integrations are missing, and the Better Business Bureau lists 164 complaints, many tied to held card payments.
Wave score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of results | 30% | 6.5/10 |
| Output quality | 25% | 6.0/10 |
| Ease of use | 15% | 7.5/10 |
| Pricing and value | 15% | 7.5/10 |
| Customer support | 10% | 5.5/10 |
| Security and compliance | 5% | 5.0/10 |
What Wave is and who it is for
Wave (waveapps.com) is free accounting software for freelancers, micro-businesses and small service businesses, combining invoicing, bookkeeping and expense tracking from Wave Financial, a Toronto company. Customer reviews on Capterra rate Wave 4.4 and reviews on G2 rate it 4.3 (review platform). H&R Block agreed to buy it in 2019 (third-party reported), and H&R Block's fiscal 2026 annual report still lists Wave as part of its business. Paid add-ons cover card payments, payroll, receipt capture and done-for-you bookkeeping through Wave Advisors (vendor-sourced).
Wave suits freelancers and small service businesses that invoice clients and keep simple books, and third-party reviewers describe it as a fit for that kind of business. iFeelTech advises skipping it if you need inventory, and Merchant Maverick says it is not suited to large businesses. If you need stock tracking, project management or a deep integration catalog, look at the accounting tools in the comparison section below.
What Wave does
The free Starter plan includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, a cash flow and customer dashboard, a mobile app for invoicing and an option to accept online payments (vendor-sourced). Pro adds automatic import of bank transactions where the bank is supported through Plaid, auto-merge and categorization, unlimited receipt capture and expense tracking, automated late payment reminders and multiple users with admin, editor or viewer roles (vendor-sourced).
Merchant Maverick (third-party reported, June 2026) confirms journal entries, bank reconciliation, a customizable chart of accounts and cash and accrual reporting. It also lists the gaps: inventory is only an item list with names, descriptions and prices and has no stock levels, there is no built-in project management or budgeting, and time tracking exists only through Wave Payroll. Direct integrations are PayPal, Etsy and Shoeboxed, plus Zapier, checkout buttons for Wix, Squarespace and WordPress, and an API. Merchant Maverick scores features 3.0 of 5 and integrations 2.9 of 5, and calls the mobile apps limited.
Data export is available under business settings. Admins choose accounting, receipt or payroll files, and the download link is emailed to the primary address and stays active for 24 hours. Viewer and Editor roles cannot export (vendor-sourced).
Support runs through live chat and email Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern, with a Help Center and status page also available (vendor-sourced). Sources disagree on who gets live chat: one says Pro includes it, another says it is reserved for Wave Payments users, Payroll subscribers, Pro subscribers and Starter users who buy receipt scanning.
Wave pricing
- Starter: $0 (vendor-sourced).
- Pro: $19 USD or $25 CAD per month, or $190 USD or $250 CAD per year when billed annually (vendor-sourced). Pricing is per business, so each business needs its own subscription.
- Card payments on Starter: 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction, with American Express at 3.4% + $0.60 (vendor-sourced).
- Card payments on Pro: 2.9% for the first 10 transactions each month, then 2.9% + $0.60, with American Express at 3.4% and then 3.4% + $0.60 (vendor-sourced). Payments require approval with identity verification and credit review.
- Payroll: the vendor page shows prices from $25 or $40 per month, while Merchant Maverick reports $40 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor. Sources disagree on the entry price.
- Receipt capture add-on: $8 per month or $72 per year (Merchant Maverick, third-party reported). The vendor page lists a second price pair of $11 per month or $96 per year.
- Wave Advisors bookkeeping: from $149 per month (Merchant Maverick, third-party reported).
The entry price is $0, but total cost rises quickly for many businesses. Bank auto-import needs Pro at $19 per month, and payments, payroll and receipt capture are separate charges.
Wave pros
- The Starter plan includes unlimited invoices, bills and bookkeeping records at no charge (vendor-sourced).
- Merchant Maverick rates ease of use 4.2 of 5 and pricing 4.4 of 5 (third-party reported).
- Review platforms show broad adoption: 4.4 from 1,720 reviews on Capterra and 4.3 from 323 reviews on G2 (review platform).
- Pro supports multiple users with admin, editor and viewer roles, with pricing per business rather than per seat (vendor-sourced).
- Wave Advisors adds access to expert bookkeepers for businesses that want hands-off bookkeeping (vendor-sourced).
Wave cons
- Inventory has no stock levels, and there is no project management, budgeting or built-in time tracking outside Wave Payroll (Merchant Maverick, third-party reported).
- Integrations are limited, with direct connections to only PayPal, Etsy and Shoeboxed (Merchant Maverick, third-party reported).
- The Better Business Bureau profile for Wave Financial lists 164 complaints over the last three years (third-party reported). One analysis ties most of them to funds held on Payments by Wave transactions.
- Merchant Maverick lists poor customer support among its cons even though its category rating for customer service is 4.3 of 5, and its user reviews score is 3.4 of 5 (third-party reported).
- Bank auto-import, receipt capture and multi-user access sit behind paid plans and add-ons.
How Wave compares
- QuickBooks: TechRepublic ranks QuickBooks Online first among Wave alternatives, which makes it a common next step when Wave's feature limits become a problem (third-party reported).
- Xero: worth a look if you need more than Wave's direct integrations with PayPal, Etsy and Shoeboxed, which Merchant Maverick lists as the full set (third-party reported).
- FreshBooks: it appears repeatedly in third-party Wave alternatives lists, and suits readers whose main need is invoicing.
Moon Invoice and Kashoo also recur in alternatives lists.
Featured in: Best accounting software
Last researched: November 8, 2026.
Reviewed by Greylisting Team.
Wave verdict
Wave earns its place for freelancers and micro-businesses that want free invoicing and bookkeeping and can live without inventory, project tracking or a wide integration list. It does not suit businesses that need stock control or deep integrations, and card payment holds are a documented complaint to weigh if you plan to collect payments through Wave. Once you add Pro, payments and payroll, the cost is no longer free, so compare it with the other accounting tools before committing.