# Wave vs ZipBooks Comparison
---
## AI Generated Summary
- **G2 reviewers report** that ZipBooks excels in user experience, with many praising its **intuitive design** and **clean interface**. Users have noted that it is "incredibly simple" to navigate, making it a strong choice for those who prioritize ease of use in their accounting software.
- **According to verified reviews** , Wave is particularly favored by small businesses and freelancers, with users highlighting its **automatic transaction downloading** feature that saves significant time. This functionality is especially beneficial for those who need to manage finances without extensive guidance.
- **Users say** that ZipBooks offers a comprehensive solution for managing business finances, including invoices, bills, payroll, and expenses. Reviewers appreciate that it is almost a complete solution, which can simplify financial management for smaller companies.
- **Reviewers mention** that Wave's invoicing and payment setup is straightforward, making it a practical option for users who need to get started quickly. However, some users feel that it may not fully meet their specific workflow needs compared to ZipBooks.
- **G2 reviewers highlight** the quality of support provided by ZipBooks, with many users rating it highly for responsiveness and helpfulness. In contrast, Wave's support has received lower ratings, indicating that users may face challenges when seeking assistance.
- **According to recent feedback** , both products have their strengths, but ZipBooks has a slight edge in overall satisfaction, reflected in its higher G2 Score. Users appreciate the ongoing product direction and improvements, which contribute to a more positive experience over time.



| | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Star Rating** | 4.3 out of 5 | 4.7 out of 5 | 
| **Total Reviews** | 323 | 86 | 
| **Largest Market Segment** | Small-Business (94.6% of reviews) | Small-Business (78.8% of reviews) | 
| **Entry Level Price** | $20-$35 per month | No pricing available | 

---
## Top Pros & Cons

### Wave

Pros:
- Ease of Use (11 reviews)
- Invoice Management (6 reviews)

Cons:
- Missing Features (5 reviews)
- Poor Customer Support (5 reviews)

### ZipBooks

**Not enough data**

---
## Ratings Comparison
| Rating | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
  | **Meets Requirements** | 8.6 (259 reviews) | 9.1 (76 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Use** | 8.9 (261 reviews) | 9.5 (76 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Setup** | 8.8 (131 reviews) | 9.5 (34 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Admin** | 8.8 (114 reviews) | 9.5 (34 reviews) | 
  | **Quality of Support** | 7.7 (171 reviews) | 9.4 (71 reviews) | 
  | **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?** | 8.5 (106 reviews) | 9.3 (32 reviews) | 
  | **Product Direction (% positive)** | 8.0 (250 reviews) | 9.6 (78 reviews) | 

---
## Pricing

### Wave

#### Entry-Level Pricing

Plan:  Pay your staff 

Price: $20-$35 per month

Description: $20/month base fee in Canada + 44 states

$35/month base fee in California, Florida, New York, Texas, Illinois & Washington

$4 additional per employee added

Key Features:
- Includes direct deposit.
- Employee portal to check pay stubs and history.
- Perfect for salaried and hourly workers, full-time or part-time.

[Browse all 3 editions](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/pricing)

#### Free Trial

Yes

### ZipBooks

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

Yes

---
## Features Comparison By Category

### Accounting

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Wave** | 7.2/10 | 92 |
| **ZipBooks** | N/A | N/A |

#### General Ledger

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Journal Entries** | 8.0 (56 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Tags / Dimensions** | 7.9 (47 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Audit Trail** | 7.6 (47 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Accounts Receivable

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Invoice Customization** | 8.6 (76 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **AR Automation** | 8.1 (56 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Collections Automation** | 8.0 (48 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Accounts Payable

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **AP Automation** | 7.8 (36 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Payment Processing** | 8.1 (56 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Purchase Orders** | 7.4 (34 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Other Functionality

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Inventory Tracking / Ordering** | 6.8 (29 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Inventory Pricing and Costing** | 7.1 (30 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Inventory Reporting** | 6.8 (28 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Multi-Entity / Consolidation** | 6.9 (31 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Recognition Rules** | 7.1 (32 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Reconciliations** | 7.8 (47 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Payroll** | 6.7 (28 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Time and Expense** | 6.8 (28 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Reporting & Analytics

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Financial Statements** | 8.3 (78 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Custom Reporting** | 7.8 (60 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Budgeting / Forecasting** | 7.7 (42 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Dashboards** | 8.5 (73 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Platform

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Customization** | 7.3 (59 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Workflow Capability** | 7.3 (41 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **User, Role, and Access Management** | 7.8 (54 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Internationalization** | 7.2 (29 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Performance and Reliability** | 8.2 (66 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Output Document Generation** | 7.9 (53 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Integration

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Data Import and Export Tools** | 7.7 (50 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Integration APIs** | 7.2 (31 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Breadth of Partner Applications** | 6.6 (31 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Cash Flow

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Track Cash Flow** | 8.0 (33 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Income and Expenses** | 8.4 (37 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **File Exports** | 7.6 (28 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Budgeting & Forecasting

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Budgeting / Forecasting** | 7.7 (42 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Data Import** | 7.2 (25 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Versioning** | 6.6 (17 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Historical Data** | 7.2 (27 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### Revenue

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Revenue Types** | 7.9 (28 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Revenue Allocation** | 7.5 (23 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Scheduling** | 7.2 (21 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Payroll

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Direct Deposit** | 6.7 (20 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Check/W-2 Printing** | 6.8 (17 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Tax Calculation** | 6.6 (20 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 
| **Reporting and Dashboards** | 7.7 (25 reviews) ✓ Verified | Not enough data | 

#### AI

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Data Extraction** | 5.9 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Invoice Processing** | 6.9 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Expense Management** | 6.7 (10 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Fraud Detection** | 4.5 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Tax Compliance** | 6.7 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Support Chatbots** | 5.6 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Bank Reconciliations** | 7.6 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Report Generation** | 6.7 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Customizable Alerts** | 6.0 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Predictive Analytics** | 5.7 (7 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Mobile Applications - Accounting

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Cloud Integration** | 6.9 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Notifications** | 7.8 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **UI** | 6.9 (9 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Offline** | 4.2 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Expense Tracking** | 6.7 (8 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Invoice Management** | 8.3 (11 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Agentic AI - Accounting

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Autonomous Task Execution** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

### Billing

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Wave** | 7.8/10 | 50 |
| **ZipBooks** | N/A | N/A |

#### Bill Generation

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Templates** | 7.9 (36 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Digital Billing** | 8.3 (42 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Recurring Billing** | 8.1 (36 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Bill Processing

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Consolidation** | 7.6 (28 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Batch Invoicing** | 7.7 (27 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Management** | 8.3 (40 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Integration

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Accounting** | 7.9 (37 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **Payments** | 8.0 (33 reviews) | Not enough data | 
| **ERP** | 6.8 (19 reviews) | Not enough data | 

#### Agentic AI - Billing

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Autonomous Task Execution** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

### Accounting & Finance

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **Wave** | N/A | N/A |
| **ZipBooks** | N/A | N/A |

#### Agentic AI - Accounting & Finance

| Feature | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Autonomous Task Execution** | Not enough data | Not enough data | 

---
## Categories
**Shared Categories (1):** [Billing Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/billing)

**Unique to Wave (1):** [Accounting Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/accounting)



---
## Reviewer Demographics

### By Company Size

| Segment | Wave | ZipBooks | 
|---|---|---|
| **Small-Business** | 94.6% | 78.8% | 
| **Mid-Market** | 4.2% | 14.1% | 
| **Enterprise** | 1.3% | 7.1% | 

### By Industry

#### Wave

- **Marketing and Advertising:** 15.6%
- **Accounting:** 5.9%
- **Information Technology and Services:** 5.9%
- **Design:** 4.9%
- **Computer Software:** 3.3%
- **Management Consulting:** 2.9%
- **Internet:** 2.9%
- **Health, Wellness and Fitness:** 2.6%
- **Graphic Design:** 2.6%
- **Consulting:** 2.3%
- **Other:** 51.1%

#### ZipBooks

- **Information Technology and Services:** 16.5%
- **Marketing and Advertising:** 9.4%
- **Computer Software:** 7.1%
- **Design:** 5.9%
- **Management Consulting:** 4.7%
- **Graphic Design:** 3.5%
- **Internet:** 3.5%
- **Media Production:** 3.5%
- **Accounting:** 2.4%
- **Broadcast Media:** 2.4%
- **Other:** 41.2%

---
## Alternatives

### Alternatives to Wave

- [Xero](https://www.g2.com/products/xero/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1600 reviews)
- [FreshBooks](https://www.g2.com/products/freshbooks/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (975 reviews)
- [Zoho Books](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-books/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (327 reviews)
- [QuickBooks Desktop Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/quickbooks-desktop-pro/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1765 reviews)
- [QuickBooks Online](https://www.g2.com/products/quickbooks-online/reviews) — 4.0/5 stars (3826 reviews)
- [NetSuite](https://www.g2.com/products/netsuite/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (4777 reviews)
- [GoDaddy Bookkeeping](https://www.g2.com/products/godaddy-bookkeeping/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (38 reviews)
- [Zoho Invoice](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-invoice/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (359 reviews)
- [Square Point of Sale](https://www.g2.com/products/square-point-of-sale/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (1208 reviews)
- [HoneyBook](https://www.g2.com/products/honeybook/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (212 reviews)

### Alternatives to ZipBooks

- [FreshBooks](https://www.g2.com/products/freshbooks/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (975 reviews)
- [Zoho Invoice](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-invoice/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (359 reviews)
- [QuickBooks Desktop Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/quickbooks-desktop-pro/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1765 reviews)
- [Zoho Books](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-books/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (327 reviews)
- [Xero](https://www.g2.com/products/xero/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1600 reviews)
- [NetSuite](https://www.g2.com/products/netsuite/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (4777 reviews)
- [Square Point of Sale](https://www.g2.com/products/square-point-of-sale/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (1208 reviews)
- [Apptivo](https://www.g2.com/products/apptivo/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (224 reviews)
- [BQE CORE](https://www.g2.com/products/core-bqe-software-inc/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (449 reviews)
- [Invoiced](https://www.g2.com/products/invoiced/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (411 reviews)

---
## Top Discussions

### Wave

- Title: [Is Wave Accounting really free?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-wave-accounting-really-free) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "yes"
- Title: [Is wave a good accounting software?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-wave-a-good-accounting-software) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Yeah. It has most of the features required by a small business. You can request the team if you need anything in particular "
- Title: [What is Wave Software?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-wave-software) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Wave software is an easy to use Payroll and Accounting software. You can create invoices, send billings, track expenses, and all normal transactions..."
- Title: [How does Wave Software make money?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-does-wave-software-make-money) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "On payments they take a percent just like all payments services. They give the accounting platform away for free because they know at least some people will..."

### ZipBooks

- Title: [How much does ZipBooks cost?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-much-does-zipbooks-cost) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "The version I use is free!"

---
**Source:** [G2.com](https://www.g2.com) | [Comparison Page](https://www.g2.com/compare/wave-vs-zipbooks)