Wave Financial Review 2026: Deep Dive for Solo Devs & Small Teams
Free tier limits, real costs per team size, and honest "not for" warnings. Everything you need to decide if Wave Financial fits your stack.
Quick Summary
💰 Monthly Cost by Team Size
🚫 Not Recommended For
- Growing businesses needing advanced features
- Teams needing payroll integration
- Businesses with inventory
Wave Financial Pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Forever |
| Free | $0/mo | monthly |
| Pro (Payments) | $0/mo | per-transaction |
Pros & Cons
✅ What We Like
- 100% free accounting and invoicing — no catch
- Unlimited invoices, clients, and users on free plan
- Double-entry accounting with bank connections
- Receipt scanning via mobile app
- Professional invoice templates
❌ What Could Be Better
- No inventory management
- Limited integrations (no Zapier, limited API)
- Payment processing fees are higher than Stripe (2.9% + 60¢)
- No time tracking or project management
- Customer support is limited on free plan
Feature Breakdown
🏆 Our Verdict
Wave Financial scores 4.3/5 in our evaluation. Solo Dev Score: 8.5/10. It's best suited for Freelancers who want free accounting, Side hustlers and micro-businesses, Non-technical users needing basic bookkeeping. It's a solid option worth considering, especially for its core use cases.
📝 Editor's Note
Wave is the best free accounting software, period. There's genuinely no catch — accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning are all free. They monetize through payment processing (2.9% + 60¢) and payroll services. For freelancers with simple needs, Wave eliminates the 'do I need accounting software?' question entirely.
💡 Pricing Verdict: Free. Really free. If you're a freelancer spending $15-30/mo on FreshBooks or QuickBooks and only need basic invoicing and bookkeeping, Wave saves you $180-360/year. The trade-off is fewer integrations and less advanced reporting.
🔄 Switching Tips: Moving from FreshBooks or QuickBooks? Export your chart of accounts and client list as CSV. Wave's import tool handles basic data. Allow 1-2 hours for initial setup. You'll miss some advanced features but your wallet will thank you.
See how it compares: FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online
Try Wave Financial Free →Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wave Financial worth the price in 2026?
Wave Financial starts at Free / $0/mo. Based on our evaluation, it scores 4.3/5 overall. Whether it's worth it depends on your team size and feature requirements — read our detailed breakdown above.
What are the main alternatives to Wave Financial?
Several tools compete with Wave Financial in its category. Check our comparison section above for head-to-head matchups with the top alternatives.
Does Wave Financial offer a free plan?
Check our pricing section above for the most up-to-date information on Wave Financial's free tier and paid plans.
Is Wave Financial good for small businesses?
Wave Financial can work for small businesses depending on your budget and requirements. Review our "Best For" section to see if it matches your use case.
📖 Read Next
More invoicing reviews you might find useful