Wave
Free, genuinely useful core accounting for freelancers and the smallest teams, with paid add ons only when you need them.
Wave is the rare accounting tool whose core is permanently free. The Starter plan covers double entry bookkeeping, unlimited invoicing and expense tracking with no monthly fee, which makes it ideal for freelancers and side businesses watching every dollar. A low cost Pro plan adds receipt scanning, automatic bank imports and priority support, while payroll and payments are paid add ons you switch on only when the business needs them. The limits are the flip side of that simplicity: no inventory, thin reporting, fewer integrations, and support that is light on the free tier.
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Real books for nothing a month, until the business asks for more.
In its favour
Held against it
Price and simplicity lead, depth is the limit.
Wave scores at the top on value and high on ease, with a free core that few rivals match. Features and integrations are the ceiling: it is built to stay simple, so larger or product based businesses will outgrow it.
Scored against the same five weighted criteria we use across accounting. See the rubric →
a freelancer or very small business that wants real books and invoicing for free and can add payroll later.
a product business that needs inventory, or a growing team that wants deep reporting and many integrations.
What it costs
Per month, billed monthlyPricing as of June 2026. The Starter plan is free; Pro is about $16 a month billed annually. Payroll runs from $40 a month plus $6 per active employee, and card payments cost 2.9 percent plus 60 cents per transaction. Check the vendor for current pricing.