--- title: Wave Reviews meta\_title: 'Wave Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta\_description: Filter 328 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Wave works for a business like yours. aggregate\_rating: rating\_value: 4.3 review\_count: 328 scale: '5' date\_modified: '2026-08-09' parent\_category: name: Accounting & Finance url: https://www.g2.com/categories/accounting-finance --- # Wave Reviews & Product Details Claimed ###### Profile Status This profile is currently managed by Wave but has limited features. Are you part of the Wave team? [Upgrade your plan](https://sell.g2.com) to enhance your branding and engage with visitors to your profile! Wave is a comprehensive, cloud-based accounting software tailored for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. It offers a suite of financial tools designed to simplify bookkeeping, invoicing, and payroll processes, enabling users to manage their finances efficiently without the need for extensive accounting knowledge. Key Features and Functionality: - Accounting: Track income and expenses, manage cash flow, and access detailed financial reports such as profit and loss statements and balance sheets. - Invoicing: Create and send professional, customizable invoices with ease. - Payments: Accept online payments through credit cards and bank transfers, facilitating faster transactions. - Payroll: Run payroll for employees and contractors, with automatic tax calculations and filings in supported regions. - Receipts: Scan and store receipts to track and organize expenses efficiently. - Mobile App: Manage invoices, expenses, and receipts on-the-go, ensuring financial oversight anytime, anywhere. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: Wave addresses the common challenges faced by small business owners in managing their finances by offering an integrated platform that combines accounting, invoicing, and payroll functionalities. Its user-friendly interface and automation features reduce the time and effort required for financial management, allowing users to focus more on growing their businesses. Additionally, Wave's commitment to security ensures that sensitive financial data is protected, providing peace of mind to its users. * * * Seller [Wave](https://www.g2.com/sellers/wave) Discussions [Wave Community](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/discuss) Languages Supported English Solution Type All-in-One Overview by Evan Miersch Show More ## Pricing Pricing provided by Wave. ### Pay your staff $20-$35 per month ### Accept credit cards 2.9% + 30¢ PER TRANSACTION [ View More Pricing Information ](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/pricing) ## Top-Rated Alternatives [ ![Xero](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Xero") Xero 4.4/5(1,732) ](https://www.g2.com/products/xero/reviews) [ ![FreshBooks](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "FreshBooks") FreshBooks 4.5/5(981) ](https://www.g2.com/products/freshbooks/reviews) [ ![Zoho Books](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Zoho Books") Zoho Books 4.4/5(329) ](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-books/reviews) [ View All Alternatives ](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/competitors/alternatives) ## User Insights Average based on 328 real user reviews. Implementation Time 1 month Perceived Cost $$$$$ [Log in to unlock pricing and user insights](/login) ## Wave Integrations (2) What do users say about integrations? Integration information sourced from real user reviews. [ ![Product Avatar Image](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Product Avatar Image") Microsoft Excel ](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-excel/reviews)[ ![Product Avatar Image](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Product Avatar Image") Zapier ](https://www.g2.com/products/zapier/reviews) Show More ![Leila B.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Leila B.") LB Leila B. Team Growth Strategist & Founder Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/19/2026 "Nice UI and templates with solid but basic functionality" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? Wave is visually appealing, intuitive, and just works. Coming from heavier, more traditional platforms, I appreciate that it handles the background accounting seamlessly without forcing me to wade through rigid manual setups. The expense tracking, automated invoicing, and clean interface make day-to-day financial management straightforward and fairly efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? While it’s a solid platform overall, there is definitely room for improvement. The reporting features feel a bit basic, and the approval workflows could be streamlined. Additionally, the dashboard lacks deep customization, and the AI-powered features—specifically smart transaction categorization—aren't as sharp as they should be and require too much manual correction. Lastly, payment processing payout times can occasionally feel a bit slow compared to newer fintech alternatives. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? Wave solves the problem of administrative bloat by keeping invoicing and expense tracking under one roof without the complexity of traditional bookkeeping software. It gives me a clear, clean look at my business finances without eating up my time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: G2 invite ![Holderness L.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Holderness L.") HL Holderness L. Senior Financial & Compliance Accountant Accounting Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 7/9/2026 "Great for Freelancers, Challenging for German Compliance" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? The biggest draw for our firm is that Wave’s core bookkeeping features are entirely free of charge, which is ideal for our smallest freelance clients who only have a handful of monthly income and expense entries. Clients can snap photos of receipts and upload them straight into the platform themselves, cutting down stacks of physical paper invoices I previously had to file and sort manually. The interface is clean and straightforward, so even clients with no accounting background can create simple invoices or match bank transactions without constant support from our team. The CSV export function is also handy; I can pull all transaction history quickly to start building out compliant financial spreadsheets before moving data into our official German accounting systems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? Wave was clearly built for non-EU markets and cannot meet Germany’s strict statutory accounting requirements at all. There’s no native DATEV export function, it cannot produce GoBD-compliant audit logs required by tax auditors, and there are zero pre-built templates for German VAT declarations or HGB financial statements. The entire platform runs only in English, with no German translation for critical tax and ledger terminology, creating constant confusion for our local clients and junior accounting staff. All client financial data is hosted on foreign servers, which breaches GDPR data localization rules we’re obligated to uphold for every German client. The software does not separate out German-specific tax surcharges or VAT breakdowns line-by-line, meaning every single transaction file I export has to be fully reworked in Excel manually before tax filing. Setting the tool up for German use added massive extra work on our end too. There’s no preloaded German chart of accounts or standardized VAT code library, so I had to create every single ledger category from scratch. Formatting exported CSVs to satisfy GoBD archive standards also took hours of custom spreadsheet adjustments each month. There are no direct API connections to our core German accounting tools, so every data handoff is a tedious manual copy-and-reformat process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? We only use Wave as a lightweight supplementary solution exclusively for micro freelance clients with uncomplicated, low-volume bookkeeping needs. Its free invoicing and digital receipt capture remove the need to license expensive paid accounting software for these tiny accounts, cutting unnecessary overhead for both our firm and our clients. All invoices, receipts and bank records live in one single digital space rather than scattered paper folders, so I can pull preliminary cash flow and revenue snapshots fast during pre-tax review meetings, before I rebuild the full compliant reporting set under German regulations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Eriko B.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Eriko B.") EB Eriko B. Senior Compliance Accountant Accounting Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 7/3/2026 "Great for Basic Bookkeeping, Lacks German Compliance" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? The full core accounting toolset comes entirely free with no mandatory paid tiers or hidden transaction charges, which keeps our overhead low when handling tiny, low-revenue client jobs. Automated bank feeds pull daily bank activity automatically, so our junior accountants skip hours of manual ledger typing every week. The mobile receipt scanner lets our team snap expense paperwork on-site and upload records instantly. I also value the branded invoice creator to send standardized client bills in minutes, plus straightforward P&L snapshots that let me spot cash flow shortages long before month-end closing begins. Initial setup was surprisingly straightforward too; connecting bank accounts and customizing invoice templates took under an hour with zero complicated technical configuration. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? Wave’s biggest downside is its total disregard for German fiscal regulations, which makes it unusable as our official bookkeeping system. All financial data resides on non-EU servers, triggering constant Schrems II GDPR data transfer risks we have to document separately for compliance. Transaction logs can be edited or deleted with no locked, tamper-proof audit trails—Finanzamt auditors will outright reject these records during Betriebsprüfung. It has no native DATEV export functions or GDPdU file formats required for digital tax submissions. There are no pre-built templates for German monthly VAT advance filings (USt-Voranmeldung), and cross-border EU multi-currency bookings produce messy VAT breakdowns that need full manual recalculation. The platform cannot auto-lock records for the mandatory 10-year GoBD retention period, so our team manually backs up every transaction offline to avoid heavy regulatory fines. There is also no German-speaking support team available to resolve audit-related issues quickly. My key improvement requests: EU-exclusive data hosting, native two-way DATEV integration, unalterable permanent audit trails, pre-built German VAT reporting modules, and local German technical support for compliance troubleshooting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? Before implementing Wave, our junior staff logged every bank transfer and expense line manually inside disjointed Excel spreadsheets, a slow process prone to typos and missing entries. Wave’s automated sync and mobile receipt uploads drastically cut repetitive manual data input. Fast profit and cash flow summaries also remove the need to build custom calculation sheets just to get a quick overview of small client project performance. Since there is no subscription cost, we avoid extra software expenses when servicing micro-client accounts with minimal transaction volume. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Barb B.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Barb B.") BB Barb B. President Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/5/2026 "Wave: Ideal for Accounting Experts, But Invoicing Needs Improvement" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? I use Wave as my accounting/bookkeeping program. As a nonprofit, I was excited to learn that Wave can be used for free for basic accounting. Its interface is easy to understand from an actual accounting perspective. As someone with a background in accounting, I don't have to guess what the program is doing when I input information. I can create transactions and journal entries where I control which codes are used. We operate on a cash basis, so I can use their transactions register and journal entry register to input 90% of what I need to record from my checking accounts. I also wasn't sure how it would handle year-end, but it understands that after the end of my year to close the books and start a new P&L. Some people might not like the fact that you can still edit the prior year after the fact, but since I'm the accountant, I'm not concerned with that. I'd say it would be an 8 or 9 if they have some accounting background. It's exactly what I needed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? Creating an invoice when you're not selling a product can be a bit confusing. I've had to create invoices for grants which I've had trouble coding to the right place. I usually end up having to make a journal entry correction. It's been a while since I've had to do it, but unless you create a new item for each grant, it automatically codes it to the same account used before and you don't realize it, but it doesn't show you that it's doing that until after you've completed the invoice and then I couldn't find a way to edit the coding after the fact. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? I use Wave for accounting as it's free for basic features, making it ideal for my nonprofit. The interface is clear from an accounting perspective, allowing me to easily record transactions and journal entries. It handles cash basis records efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Stacey B.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Stacey B.") SB Stacey B. Digital Media Consultant Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 3/18/2026 "Great Fit for Small Business Accounting Needs" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? It's easy to use, and I love that it has had a free tier for as long as it has, when many competitors are overcharging crazy monthly subscription fees. What you get for features within the app, compared to its competitors, is awesome. It has all the needs for a small business. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? I am based in Canada, and have a lot of US-based clients. The inability to collect online credit card payments from US clients is a big deal breaker. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? Wave handles all the end to end invoicing, billing, expense, reconciliation and tax needs for small business. The fact that it can handle all of these things for free, and do them well is rare in this industry. I've never had any issues with the app either, literally none. Everything just works. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Aaron W.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Aaron W.") AW Aaron W. Owner/ceo Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 7/5/2026 "Best-in-Class Free Tier for Contact Exchange" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? The free tier is the best free version I’ve seen in any contact exchange app! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? The nfc exchange worked so well on my last phone. It’s very hit and miss on my new one. It’s annoying actually. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? It solved a cluttered mess of contact information. That makes me more efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Vivek Kumar S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Vivek Kumar S.") VS Vivek Kumar S. Freelancer Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/16/2026 "Great Free Core for Freelancers, but Key Automations Now Locked Behind Pro" 3.5/5 What do you like best about Wave? The free core plan provides unlimited expense tracking, free invoicing, and basic reporting, which makes it an ideal option for many freelancers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? Feature creep hidden behind a paywall: automatic bank feeds and receipt scanning are no longer free. If you want bank transactions to populate automatically, you now have to pay the $19/month Pro fee; on the free plan, you’re stuck manually uploading CSV files. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? Wave addresses the issue of expensive, overly complex accounting software for the millions of freelancers and micro-business owners who simply need clean invoicing, straightforward bookkeeping, and clear financial visibility — all for free. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Will R.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Will R.") WR Will R. Treasurer Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 4/8/2026 "Great Price and Easy to Use" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? price, ease of use, good for basic needs Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? limited free features, probably best for simple/small businesses Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? basic accounting & reporting Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Verified User in Computer Hardware](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Computer Hardware") UC Verified User in Computer Hardware Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 11/3/2021 "Works great for accounting at no cost" 3.5/5 What do you like best about Wave? It is a free web-based accounting software, so no money required to use or renewals. Can do everything you need for a sole proprietorship. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? It does not have some of the tax forms that the paid accounting software like QuickBooks has. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? I use this for tracking sales and costs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More 4/21/2026 Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Verified User in Education Management](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Education Management") CE Verified User in Education Management Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 7/8/2025 "FREE CORE ACCOUNTING TOOLS" 4/5 What do you like best about Wave? FREE CORE ACCOUNTING TOOLS EASY TOUSE CLOUD BASED ACCESS INVOICING MADE SIMPLE BANK TRASACTION SYNCING INTEGRATED PAYMENTS REPORTING OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Wave? NO INVENTORY MANAGEMENT NO TIME TRACKING LIMITED INTERGRATION CUSTOMER SUPPORTCAN BESLOW PAYROLL LIMITATION Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you? EXPENSIVE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE BUT CAN SAVE 100 OF DOLLARS A YEAR ON SOFWARE COST SAVES TIME AND ERROR FREE KEEPS YOUR CLEAN Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ## Questions about Wave? Ask real users or explore answers from the community Get practical answers, real workflows, and honest pros and cons from the G2 community or share your insights. [ Ask about Wave ](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/discussions/new) GU Guest User • Last activity about 1 month ago Is Wave Accounting really free? 0 Upvotes 3 [ Join the conversation ](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-wave-accounting-really-free) GU Guest User • Last activity over 3 years ago How does Wave Software make money? 0 Upvotes 1 [ Join the conversation ](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-does-wave-software-make-money) [ View all Discussions ](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/discuss) ## Pricing Options Pricing provided by Wave. ### Pay your staff $20-$35 per month ### Accept credit cards 2.9% + 30¢ PER TRANSACTION ### Wave Plus $149 per month [ View More Pricing Information ](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/pricing) Wave Comparisons ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_1705b85e1cfa571866791ea4a064a3ab/stripe-billing.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Stripe Billing 4.4/5(141) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/stripe-billing-vs-wave) ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_991e7b27368257437809e4d32c25f701/freshbooks.jpg "Product Avatar Image") FreshBooks 4.5/5(981) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/freshbooks-vs-wave) ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_ec33e9d05030dd9c604a8848ebe0a8bb/xero.jpg "Product Avatar Image") Xero 4.4/5(1,732) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/wave-vs-xero) ##### ##### Wave Features General Ledger Journal Entries Tags / Dimensions Accounts Receivable Invoice Customization AR Automation Collections Automation Accounts Payable Payment Processing Other Functionality Reconciliations [ View More Features ](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/features) ##### Categories on G2 [Accounting](https://www.g2.com/categories/accounting)[Billing](https://www.g2.com/categories/billing) ##### Explore More [Which all-in-one consumer insights platforms combine audience panels, profiling and real-time dashboards for a brand research team that wants everything in one system?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/which-all-in-one-consumer-insights-platforms-combine-audience-panels-profiling-and-real-time-dashboards-for-a-brand-research-team-that-wants-everything-in-one-system%20)[Most reliable sales compensation tools for mid-sized companies](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-are-the-most-reliable-sales-compensation-tools-for-mid-sized-companies)[Cloud infrastructure monitoring software with best reviews](https://www.g2.com/discussions/cloud-infrastructure-monitoring-software-with-the-best-reviews) [What file reader software is most reliable for mid-market organizations without disrupting existing workflows?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-file-reader-software-is-most-reliable-for-mid-market-organizations-without-disrupting-existing-workflows)[Best digital asset management system reviews](https://www.g2.com/discussions/best-digital-asset-management-system-reviews)[Pros and Cons Details](https://www.g2.com/products/wave/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons) [Show MoreShow Less](javascript:void(0);)