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Compare QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Wave

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At a Glance
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Star Rating
(1,741)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (81.3% of reviews)
Information
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
$499.95
Browse all 5 pricing plans
Wave
Wave
Star Rating
(307)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (95.3% of reviews)
Information
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
$20-$35 per month
Browse all 3 pricing plans

QuickBooks Desktop Pro vs Wave

When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found Wave easier to use, set up, and administer. Reviewers also preferred doing business with Wave overall.

  • Reviewers felt that QuickBooks Desktop Pro meets the needs of their business better than Wave.
  • When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that QuickBooks Desktop Pro is the preferred option.
  • For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Wave over QuickBooks Desktop Pro.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Premier 2017
$499.95
Browse all 5 pricing plans
Wave
Pay your staff
$20-$35
per month
Browse all 3 pricing plans
Free Trial
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Free Trial is available
Wave
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.9
1,485
8.6
249
Ease of Use
8.6
1,490
8.9
251
Ease of Setup
8.3
627
8.8
121
Ease of Admin
8.6
622
8.7
112
Quality of Support
7.7
1,314
7.6
165
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.2
605
8.5
104
Product Direction (% positive)
7.5
1,476
8.0
240
Features by Category
8.0
1,123
7.1
82
General Ledger
8.7
945
|
Verified
7.9
54
|
Verified
8.3
608
|
Verified
7.8
45
|
Verified
8.5
762
|
Verified
7.5
44
|
Verified
Accounts Receivable
8.6
938
|
Verified
8.5
72
8.4
728
|
Verified
8.1
53
|
Verified
8.1
597
|
Verified
8.0
47
|
Verified
Accounts Payable
8.6
753
|
Verified
7.8
36
8.7
849
|
Verified
8.1
51
|
Verified
8.6
657
|
Verified
7.2
32
|
Verified
Other Functionality
8.2
452
|
Verified
6.8
27
|
Verified
8.2
473
|
Verified
7.0
29
|
Verified
8.3
460
|
Verified
6.8
28
8.3
578
|
Verified
6.9
31
|
Verified
8.2
578
|
Verified
7.1
32
|
Verified
8.9
908
|
Verified
7.6
44
|
Verified
8.8
647
|
Verified
6.7
27
|
Verified
8.7
646
6.7
26
|
Verified
Reporting & Analytics
9.0
997
|
Verified
8.3
72
|
Verified
8.7
968
|
Verified
7.9
59
|
Verified
8.4
738
|
Verified
7.5
40
|
Verified
8.5
872
|
Verified
8.5
70
|
Verified
Platform
8.0
822
|
Verified
7.3
58
|
Verified
Feature Not Available
7.3
40
|
Verified
8.5
883
|
Verified
7.8
54
|
Verified
8.5
529
7.3
28
|
Verified
8.6
951
|
Verified
8.2
64
|
Verified
8.6
861
|
Verified
7.9
53
|
Verified
Integration
8.2
834
|
Verified
7.8
49
|
Verified
Feature Not Available
7.2
31
Feature Not Available
6.6
31
|
Verified
Cash Flow
8.9
123
|
Verified
7.9
32
|
Verified
9.1
139
|
Verified
8.3
35
|
Verified
8.9
130
|
Verified
7.6
28
|
Verified
Budgeting & Forecasting
8.4
738
|
Verified
7.5
40
|
Verified
8.4
114
|
Verified
7.0
23
|
Verified
8.3
89
|
Verified
6.6
17
|
Verified
8.7
114
|
Verified
7.2
27
|
Verified
Revenue
8.9
121
|
Verified
7.9
28
|
Verified
8.8
104
|
Verified
7.5
23
|
Verified
8.6
90
7.2
21
Payroll
8.7
95
6.7
20
|
Verified
8.8
107
6.8
17
8.7
106
|
Verified
6.6
20
|
Verified
8.9
120
|
Verified
7.7
25
|
Verified
AI
6.1
15
5.5
7
7.0
15
6.5
8
6.4
15
6.7
9
6.6
15
4.5
7
6.7
15
6.7
8
5.3
15
5.6
8
8.2
15
7.6
9
7.9
15
6.7
8
7.1
15
6.0
7
7.3
15
5.7
7
Mobile Applications - Accounting
8.2
10
6.5
8
7.5
10
7.5
8
7.8
10
6.7
7
4.5
10
3.0
5
6.3
10
6.2
7
7.3
10
7.7
8
Agentic AI - Accounting
4.6
8
Not enough data
8.7
516
Not enough data
Employee Self Service
8.3
229
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
192
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
169
|
Verified
Not enough data
Administration
9.0
461
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
332
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.0
330
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
352
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
385
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
309
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.8
275
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.1
414
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.0
343
|
Verified
Not enough data
Taxes
9.1
429
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.9
113
Not enough data
8.8
334
|
Verified
Not enough data
Integration
8.4
254
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
88
Not enough data
8.6
292
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
71
Not enough data
Platform
8.7
444
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.9
436
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
463
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
409
|
Verified
Not enough data
Bill Generation
8.9
83
7.9
36
9.2
74
8.3
40
9.1
70
8.0
35
Bill Processing
8.7
70
7.6
28
8.8
74
7.6
26
9.1
80
8.2
38
Integration
9.0
89
7.9
37
9.0
85
8.0
33
8.6
61
6.8
19
Agentic AI - Billing
4.0
5
Not enough data
Accounting & FinanceHide 1 FeatureShow 1 Feature
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Accounting & Finance
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Wave
Wave
QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Wave are categorized as Billing and Accounting
Unique Categories
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro is categorized as Payroll
Wave
Wave has no unique categories
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
81.3%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
15.1%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
3.6%
Wave
Wave
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
95.3%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
3.7%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
1.0%
Reviewers' Industry
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Accounting
17.0%
Construction
6.9%
Non-Profit Organization Management
5.5%
Marketing and Advertising
3.3%
Information Technology and Services
3.2%
Other
64.1%
Wave
Wave
Marketing and Advertising
16.1%
Information Technology and Services
6.0%
Accounting
5.4%
Design
4.7%
Computer Software
3.4%
Other
64.4%
Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro Alternatives
FreshBooks
FreshBooks
Add FreshBooks
NetSuite
NetSuite
Add NetSuite
Xero
Xero
Add Xero
Oracle PeopleSoft
Oracle PeopleSoft
Add Oracle PeopleSoft
Wave
Wave Alternatives
Xero
Xero
Add Xero
FreshBooks
FreshBooks
Add FreshBooks
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Add Zoho Books
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online
Add QuickBooks Online
Discussions
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro Discussions
Does Quickbooks allow you to charge customers on a recurring basis? I know that quickbooks is kind of the gold standard when it comes to accounting software, but does it have an online payment gateway?
2 Comments
Eric M.
EM
It can be set up in a few easy steps. Check out this guide: http://www.qbexpress.com/how-to-setup-recurring-charges-for-customers-in-quickbooks/Read more
Best unique feature ?
2 Comments
Mohammed Haseeb A.
MA
User interface is simply fantastic. It has got a beautiful interface with excel. Like anything and everything in software can be exported and imported...Read more
What plans are there to migrate the features from quick books online?
2 Comments
Brian L.
BL
My understanding is that QuickBooks Desktop is more in "Maintenance Mode" right now. I would not expect big new features added to desktop. As an example,...Read more
Wave
Wave Discussions
What is Wave Software?
2 Comments
Michael M.
MM
Wave software is an easy to use Payroll and Accounting software. You can create invoices, send billings, track expenses, and all normal transactions...Read more
Is wave a good accounting software?
2 Comments
MM
Yeah. It has most of the features required by a small business. You can request the team if you need anything in particular Read more
Is Wave Accounting really free?
2 Comments