Wave is a popular accounting software known for its user-friendly approach to tracking invoices and managing bills. With the introduction of its paid tier, Wave Starter is now limited to a single seat and no longer supports bank account connections. Meanwhile, Wave Pro offers unlimited user access and includes premium features like automated invoice reminders.
- Wave Pro is best for automated bank imports and unlimited user access.
- Wave Starter is best for self-employed individuals wanting to track invoices and bills.
I have several years of experience in accounting software evaluation and providing small businesses with reliable, expert insights.
Leveraging my accounting and bookkeeping expertise, I rigorously assess software using our internal case study that objectively scores key features while upholding editorial independence.
My commitment is to deliver accurate, clear, and authoritative answers in line with our Fit Small Business Editorial Policy.
- Am a CPA in the Philippines
- Have been evaluating and writing about accounting software since 2021
Wave Pro | Wave Starter | |
|---|---|---|
2.7 ★ | 2.4 ★ | |
Monthly pricing | $16 | $0 |
Number of users | Unlimited | 1 |
Free trial | ✕ | ✕ |
Money-back guarantee | ✕ | ✕ |
Perform manual bank reconciliation | ✓ | ✓ |
Create and design invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Send receipt copy via mobile app | ✓ | ✓ |
Create estimates | ✓ | ✓ |
Record payment of sales tax liability | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic matching of bank transactions | ✓ | ✕ |
Automatic transaction categorization | ✓ | ✕ |
Automatic invoice reminders | ✓ | ✕ |
Assign estimates to projects | ✕ | ✕ |
Manage inventory | ✕ | ✕ |
When to use Wave Pro vs Starter
Wave Pro is the better choice if you’re ready to invest in automation and collaboration while staying within an affordable budget. However, if you’re a freelancer or solopreneur just starting to take your accounting seriously and needing only the essentials, Wave Starter is a solid, no-commitment option.
Pro
I recommend Wave Pro for small businesses requiring invoicing automation and multi-user access with different user roles. It lets you
- connect your bank accounts for automatic transaction imports
- streamline bookkeeping with automated categorization
- send recurring invoices with automated reminders
It’s ideal for newly established businesses that don’t need complex accounting software. Its simplicity makes it accessible to all kinds of users, especially those just starting a business.
Starter
As the free tier, Wave Starter offers essential tools for invoicing, billing, and general accounting. It is limited to only one user, so I highly recommend it to solopreneurs, mom-and-pop shops, and freelancers. And if you ever need more seats, you can easily upgrade to Wave Pro.
My opinion about Wave Starter is mixed. I like that it is free and has simple tools and find it to be the perfect fit for freelancers who aren’t ready to commit to a paid subscription. However, if I were to pick, I’d go with Wave Pro. It offers automation, better expense tracking with bank feeds, invoice reminders, and unlimited receipt scanning — essential features for new and growing businesses.
When to upgrade from Starter to Pro
At some point, Wave Starter subscribers will need to upgrade to the paid version. Here are some instances of when it may be time to upgrade.
- You want to collaborate with your team: Wave Starter is good for only one user. Meanwhile, you’ll get unlimited seats with Wave Pro — plus different user roles, such as admin, editor, payroll manager, and viewer.
- You handle a high volume of expenses: Manually tracking receipts can be difficult to track once they pile up. Wave Pro lets you upload unlimited receipts, scan them with OCR, and automatically generate transactions, ensuring accurate and organized expense records.
- You need automation to save time: Entering transactions and categorizing expenses manually can quickly become overwhelming. Wave Pro streamlines this process with automated bank feeds, transaction matching, and invoice reminders, reducing the time you spend on bookkeeping.
The main differences between Wave Pro vs Starter
My evaluation revealed significant differences in general features, banking, A/P, mobile app, and usability, each of which I will examine in detail below.
Wave Plans Comparison
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Wave Pro $16 per month for unlimited seats
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Wave Starter Free for one user
General features
In my assessment, Wave Pro stands out in areas that cater to businesses needing enhanced collaboration and accounting control. It allows you to add additional team members and restrict their access rights, which I find useful if you want to limit access to specific individuals. Additionally, Wave Pro provides accountant access, which Wave Starter lacks. This feature makes it easier for you to collaborate with an external accountant.
Both perform equally well in basic accounting tasks, such as modifying the chart of accounts and adjusting journal entries. This ensures that even if you’re on the free plan, you can access essential bookkeeping functions.
However, neither tier includes features like account numbers, custom transaction tagging, location/class tracking, or a closing date lock for prior-year transactions. I believe Wave is designed for small businesses with relatively straightforward accounting needs rather than those requiring detailed financial categorization or complex accounting controls.
Banking
The paid plan has a clear advantage in general banking due to its ability to establish a live bank feed, allowing automatic transaction imports from bank and credit card accounts. It also offers automated transaction matching, streamlining bookkeeping by identifying possible matches between imported and manually entered transactions. Wave Starter, in contrast, lacks live bank feeds and automated matching, requiring you to rely solely on manual uploads and categorization.
Where both fall short is in handling deposit transactions. Neither lets you combine multiple checks or cash payments into a single deposit, which could be a drawback if you frequently receive payments in batches. Additionally, they lack advanced reconciliation features, such as accounting for timing differences between bank and book balances or generating reports of outstanding transactions.
A/P
Wave Pro comes with receipt capture and automation, mainly because the mobile app comes with the paid version; however, Wave Starter subscribers can still get the mobile app for $8 a month. Another A/P feature I like in Wave Pro is the ability to email receipts to a designated address, submit them through the app, and have the system read and create transactions from them.
In contrast, Wave Starter offers only limited versions of these features. That makes receipt management more manual.
Both tiers offer the same features for core A/P tasks, including creating and saving vendors, tracking unpaid bills, generating reports, and viewing lists of transactions by vendor. However, neither allows bill attachments to unpaid bills, which could be a drawback if your business prefers keeping digital copies linked to their records.
Mobile app
The mobile app is available for both iOS and Android devices. For Wave Starter, you need to pay $8 monthly to use the app, whereas with Wave Pro, it comes free. The paid tier outperforms the free plan in expense tracking and automation. It offers unlimited receipt scanning and allows users to categorize expenses directly from bank feeds.
Both versions, however, provide the same invoicing and payment processing capabilities, so users can handle basic billing and collections without upgrading to the paid option. Neither includes bill management, time tracking, and financial reporting, so if you need advanced A/P features or financial insights, you may find Wave lacking.
Usability
Wave Pro provides better usability — mainly due to its live chat and email support, which are unavailable in Wave Starter. This makes it easier if you need assistance. However, neither tier offers live phone support and 24/7 assistance, which could be a drawback if you require immediate help.
In general, Wave is easy to set up and navigate, offering features like one-click transaction creation, automatic invoice numbering, and a clean, intuitive dashboard. It is also cloud-based and Mac-compatible, ensuring accessibility across different devices.
However, neither of its plans includes customizable dashboards, formal training, or assisted onboarding. Additionally, you cannot save and return to a bank reconciliation later or import beginning balances, which may limit flexibility for more advanced accounting needs.
How I evaluated Wave’s plans
I used the Fit Small Business accounting software case study to compare Wave’s packages across 13 major accounting functions.
5% of Overall Score
We first determined a pricing score by assessing the software’s price for one, three, and five users. We also considered whether there was a free trial, monthly pricing, and a discount for new customers. After determining the pricing score, we assigned a value score based on the pricing score and the solution’s total score across all categories except Value.
5% of Overall Score
We evaluated general features like the flexibility of the chart of accounts, the ability to add and restrict the rights of users, and how your information can be shared with an external bookkeeper. We also searched for ways to provide more granular information like class and location tracking and custom tags.
10% of Overall Score
This assessed the ability to print checks, establish live bank feeds, and import bank transactions from a file. We also looked closely at the bank reconciliation feature. We wanted to see the ability to reconcile bank accounts with or without imported bank transactions and a list of book transactions that have not yet cleared the bank.
10% of Overall Score
In addition to the basics of issuing invoices and collecting customer payments, we evaluated the software’s ability to create customized invoices. We also assessed whether it could handle non-routine transactions like short payments, credit memos, and the refund of credit balances in customer accounts.
10% of Overall Score
The A/P score consisted of the basics like tracking unpaid bills, recording vendor credits, and short-paying invoices, but it also included some more advanced features—such as paying bills electronically, creating recurring expenses, and working with purchase orders. Receipt capture and the ability to automatically generate bills from captured receipts were also part of our A/P evaluation.
10% of Overall Score
10% of Overall Score
At the very least, we looked for software that could create multiple projects and separately assign income and expenses to those projects. We also searched for the ability to create estimates and assign those estimates to projects. Ideally, the program would then compare the actual expenses to the costs on the original estimate.
5% of Overall Score
Software should be able to track sales tax for multiple jurisdictions with varying tax rates. It’s helpful to have a function to easily record the remittance of the sales tax by jurisdiction. The very best tool will also help determine which jurisdictions sales are taxable to based on the address of the customer or delivery.
10% of Overall Score
I evaluated basic financial reports (such as a balance sheet, income statement, and general ledger) and common management reports (like A/R and A/P aging).
5% of Overall Score
Ideally, a mobile app should have all the same features as the computer platform, including the ability to capture receipts, send invoices, receive payments, enter and pay bills, and view reports.
5% of Overall Score
While it’s nice to have as many integrations as possible, we focused our evaluation on the four integrations we believe are most critical for small businesses: payroll, online payment collection, sales tax filing, and time tracking.
10% of Overall Score
The largest component of usability is the ability to find bookkeeping assistance when users have questions. This could be in the form of a bookkeeping service directly from the software provider or from independent bookkeepers familiar with the program. Other components of usability include customer service and ease of use.
5% of Overall Score
Our user review score is the average user review score reported by Capterra and G2. Other review sites might be used if a score from Capterra or G2 is unavailable.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Wave Pro costs $16 a month. It comes with unlimited users and a receipt tracker.
Yes. You can do this by canceling the paid plan to be downgraded to the free plan. Note that if you downgrade to Wave Starter, you’ll lose access to the premium features of Wave Pro.
Wave Starter is good for only one user and lacks the automation present in Wave Pro, such as invoice reminders and expense matching.
Yes. The collaboration features it gives at an affordable price make Wave Pro worth it for small businesses.
Bottom line
Wave provides essential accounting tools that simplify financial management for small businesses. While Wave Starter is a great no-cost option for freelancers and solopreneurs, businesses needing automation, team collaboration, and better cash flow management will benefit from upgrading to Wave Pro.