FreshBooks vs Wave
FreshBooks
freshbooks.com
Wave
waveapps.comSide by side
| Figure | FreshBooks | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.60/mo | $6/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 10 |
| Spec score · Financial Management | 9.1 (#2) | 8.6 (#10) |
| Spec score · Accounting & Finance Software | 9.1 (#2) | 8.6 (#10) |
| Spec score · Bookkeeper Software | 9.2 (#2) | 8.6 (#12) |
| Spec score · Bookkeeping Software | 9.2 (#7) | 9.3 (#4) |
| Spec score · Gym Accounting Software | 9.1 (#3) | 8.6 (#13) |
| Spec score · Billing And Invoicing Software | 9.1 (#3) | 8.6 (#10) |
| Spec score · Core Financial Management | 9.1 (#3) | 8.6 (#13) |
| Spec score · Freelance Invoicing Software | 9.0 (#6) | 8.6 (#13) |
| Spec score · Salon Accounting Software | 9.1 (#6) | 8.6 (#16) |
| Spec score · Web App | 9.1 (#8) | 8.6 (#25) |
| Accounting | Plus, Premium and Select include double-entry accounting, chart of accounts and financial reports such as profit and loss and balance sheet. | Wave uses double-entry accounting and provides income, expense, cash-flow, profit-and-loss and balance-sheet reporting. |
| API | The public API exposes FreshBooks data as JSON for web and desktop integrations and uses OAuth2 access tokens. | Wave provides an API with application creation, endpoint documentation, query and mutation examples, a playground and webhooks. |
| Founded | 2003 | 2010 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Canada | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Integrations | FreshBooks App Store lists more than 100 partner integrations covering payments, payroll, scheduling, projects and other workflows. | Wave Pro lists integrations including Etsy, Driversnote, GoHighLevel, Google Sheets and Make.com. |
| Invoicing | The product creates branded invoices, recurring invoices, reminders and online payment requests. | Users can create unlimited professional invoices and estimates, send them online, track status and accept card or bank payments. |
| Licence | The service is proprietary: its terms grant limited access and prohibit modifying, redistributing or creating derivatives of FreshBooks content. | Wave API use is governed by Wave terms of service; the reviewed pages do not identify an open-source licence. |
| Praise: ease of use | Independent reviewers repeatedly describe invoicing, expense tracking and navigation as intuitive, modern and quick to learn. | G2 reviewers repeatedly praise Wave as user-friendly, especially for non-accountants. |
| Purpose | FreshBooks describes itself as accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. | Wave’s invoicing software helps businesses create and send invoices, get paid, and manage customer information. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.7 out of 5 from 11K ratings | 4.4 out of 5 from 6.7K ratings |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 981 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 from 358 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.5 out of 5 from 4,529 reviews | 4.4 out of 5 from 1,731 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.7 out of 5 from 1,047 reviews | 3.2 out of 5 from 555 reviews |
Plans
FreshBooks
- Lite$23 a month
- Plus$43 a month
- Premium$70 a month
- Lite$4.60 a month
- Plus$8.60 a month
- Premium$14 a month
- SelectPriced on request
Wave
- StarterFree
- Pro$19 a month
- StarterFree
- Receipts$8 a month
- Pro$19 a month
- Pro Plan$19 a month
- Receipts$72 a year
- Wave Advisors$149 a month
- Pro$190 a year
- Pro Plan$190 a year
In their own words
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. It creates invoices with tracked time and expenses, calculates taxes, and offers configurable payment options. Users can track time against clients and projects, then generate invoices from those records. Projects organize client work, team members, time, invoices, and expenses, and include profitability views. Listed payment options include card and ACH payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy now, pay later options. FreshBooks also offers recurring invoices, expense tracking, and a client portal. Its API uses OAuth2 for integrations and account automation. The service runs on the web and has iOS and Android apps, but some features, including reporting, are desktop-only. Mobile apps require iOS 15 or later or Android 7.0 or later. Lite costs $23 a month and includes five billable clients; Plus costs $43 a month and includes 50. Premium costs $70 a month and includes unlimited clients. Double-entry accounting is available on Plus, Premium, and Select. There is no free plan, and the listed trial lasts 30 days.
Wave
Wave's invoicing software helps businesses create and send invoices, receive payments, and manage customer information. Invoice templates can be customized with a logo and brand colors using drag-and-drop editing. It supports recurring invoices and automatic credit card payments for repeat customers. Customers can pay by credit card, bank payment (ACH/EFT), or Apple Pay, and invoice and payment information connects to Wave's accounting feature. The free Starter plan costs nothing and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records; online payments have transaction fees. Pro costs $19 a month and adds automatic bank transaction import, transaction merging and categorization, receipt capture, expense tracking, and late-payment reminders. Wave lists integrations including Amazon, eBay, Capsule, and Etsy, with workflows through Make. Connecting or maintaining Partner integrations and Make requires Pro or a Wave Advisors bookkeeping subscription; third-party API connections also require an active Pro or Wave Advisors package. Wave says it is not HIPAA-compliant and does not support healthcare-related businesses.