---
title: Wave Payroll Reviews
meta_title: 'Wave Payroll Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2'
meta_description: Filter 31 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to
  find out how Wave Payroll works for a business like yours.
aggregate_rating:
  rating_value: 4.1
  review_count: 31
  scale: '5'
date_modified: '2026-08-07'
parent_category:
  name: HR
  url: https://www.g2.com/categories/hr
---


# Wave Payroll Reviews
**Vendor:** Wave  
**Category:** [Payroll Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/payroll)  
**Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0  
**Total Reviews:** 31
## About Wave Payroll
Wave delivers innovative financial services and award-winning free software to small- and micro-businesses around the world.



## Wave Payroll Pros & Cons
**What users like:**

- Users appreciate the **flexibility of Wave Payroll** , finding it ideal for managing payroll and invoicing as freelancers. (2 reviews)
- Users find the **comprehensive features** of Wave Payroll essential for managing finances and invoicing effectively. (1 reviews)
- Users find Wave Payroll to be an **easy-to-use tool** that simplifies invoicing and financial management for freelancers. (1 reviews)
- Users value the **flexibility** of Wave Payroll, allowing seamless management even for solo entrepreneurs. (1 reviews)
- Users find Wave Payroll to be a **great affordable tool** for managing invoices and financial tasks effectively. (1 reviews)

**What users dislike:**

- Users find the absence of a **calendar feature** limiting for managing tasks and automating shipping processes. (1 reviews)
- Users find the **interface not intuitive** , making complex client interactions more challenging than necessary. (1 reviews)

## Wave Payroll Reviews
  ### 1. Customer service takes weeks to respond

**Rating:** 0.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Ed I. | Co-founder, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** November 08, 2022

**What do you like best about Wave Payroll?**

It's so simple that it's almost not worth using. Need to pay overtime? Not well supported. Need to resolve an issue? Be prepared to wait a week or more to hear back. 

I have no idea why someone would rely on a payroll service that you can't get in contact with and receive a prompt response. If you ever have an issue with an employee getting paid, you know that you can't a wait a week to get a response from your payroll company. 

But look, it's cheap! You get what you pay for.

**What do you dislike about Wave Payroll?**

Customer service is abysmal.
The software interface is overly simplistic and doesn't support very basic payroll use cases.
You are charged higher rates if you are in certain states for their "tax services", even if Wave doesn't support your tax situation. So you are paying for a service that they can't even provide you.

**What problems is Wave Payroll solving and how is that benefiting you?**

They competently calculated payroll twice for me. Then we ran into several issues that took nearly 6 weeks to resolve, at which point I just cancelled. (But of course, they continued to charge me after canceling!)

  ### 2. Alright 

**Rating:** 1.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Rachel B. | Miss., Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 17, 2019

**What do you like best about Wave Payroll?**

I like the idea behind it the best of all

**What do you dislike about Wave Payroll?**

I dislike the software glitches that seem to be happening with me

**What problems is Wave Payroll solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Helps keeps everything in one place 


## Wave Payroll Discussions
  - [Can you print checks from Wave?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-you-print-checks-from-wave) - 1 comment

- [View Wave Payroll pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/wave-payroll/reviews?filters%5Bnps_score%5D%5B%5D=1&section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-13+11%3A53%3A12+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=3f96851e-2565-41c0-988d-6e483e35278e&secure%5Btoken%5D=58165be523a56171536584473eb8f5fa133b693d2b764cef9bd9b67e420a436f&format=llm_user)

## Wave Payroll Features
**Employee Self Service**
- Web Portal
- Benefits Manager
- Self Service Portal

**Administration**
- Payroll Entry
- Time Off Accrual
- Direct Deposit
- Expense Reimbursement
- Pre-tax Deductions
- Wage Garnishment
- Approvals
- Check/W-2 Printing
- Check/W-2 Delivery
- Split Deposits

**Taxes**
- Tax Calculation
- Tax Filing
- Automatic Tax Payment

**Integration**
- API / Integration
- Time Tracking Integration
- Accounting Integration
- Core HR Integration
- API
- 401(k) Tracking
- Expense Tracking
- Vacation/Leave Tracking
- Third-Party Integrations
- Third-Party Integration

**Platform**
- Payroll Reporting
- User, Role, and Access Management
- Performance and Reliability
- Scalability
- Payroll Reporting
- Activity Dashboard
- Compensation Management
- Timesheet Management
- Performance Management
- Benefits Management
- Document Management
- Payroll Management
- Compliance Management
- Cash Flow Management
- Team Management
- Policy Management
- Calendar Management
- Mobile Access
- Attendance Management
- Deduction Management
- Employee Management
- Reimbursement Management
- Audit Management
- Receipt Management
- Time Off Management
- Workflow Management
- Expense Management

**Additional Functionality**
- Reminders
- Employee Profiles
- Generative AI
- Alerts/Notifications
- W-2 Preparation
- Multi-Country
- Employee Database
- Reporting & Statistics
- Employee Self Service
- AI Copilot
- Data Import/Export
- Multi-State
- Approval Process Control
- Tax Compliance
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Time Tracking
- Customizable Reports
- Web-based Deployment
- Payroll Outsourcing
- Expense Claims
- Multi-Currency
- Corporate/Business
- Chatbot
- 1099 Preparation
- Auto Update
- Time & Attendance
- AI/Machine Learning
- Employee Onboarding
- Batch Processing
- Accounting
- For Accountants
- For CPA Firms
- Multi-Location
- Reporting/Analytics
- For Small Businesses
- Workflow Automation

## Top Wave Payroll Alternatives
  - [SurePayroll](https://www.g2.com/products/surepayroll/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (523 reviews)
  - [Gusto](https://www.g2.com/products/gusto/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (12,280 reviews)
  - [Dayforce](https://www.g2.com/products/dayforce/reviews) - 4.2/5.0 (946 reviews)

