Sage Accounting vs Wave
Sage Accounting
sage.com
Wave
waveapps.comSide by side
| Figure | Sage Accounting | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £2/mo | $6/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | 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 | 4 | 10 |
| Spec score · Bookkeeping Software | 9.5 (#1) | 9.3 (#4) |
| Spec score · Gym Accounting Software | 8.8 (#9) | 8.6 (#13) |
| Spec score · Salon Accounting Software | 8.9 (#11) | 8.6 (#16) |
| API | Sage publishes a free RESTful Accounting API for Accounting and Start with CRUD operations over business data. | Wave provides an API with application creation, endpoint documentation, query and mutation examples, a playground and webhooks. |
| API authentication | The API uses OAuth 2.0 three-legged authorization so a business user grants an application access without sharing credentials. | Third-party integrations must use OAuth2 and may require Wave approval; Wave reserves the right to impose restrictions or future access fees. |
| Bank feeds | Yes | Pro supports read-only bank and credit-card connections with automatic transaction import, merging and categorization. |
| Company size | Sage says it has more than 11,000 employees operating in over 20 countries. | LinkedIn lists Wave HQ as a privately held software company with 201–500 employees in Toronto. |
| Documentation and support | Sage provides developer tutorials, a knowledge base, community hub, learning resources, live support and support tickets. | Wave offers a developer portal, help center, email support and live-person chat for Pro or qualifying paid features. |
| Founded | 1981 | 2010 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Integrations | The Sage marketplace lists Zapier connectivity to more than 4,000 apps, including Google services, Shopify, HubSpot, Slack and WooCommerce. | Wave Pro lists integrations including Etsy, Driversnote, GoHighLevel, Google Sheets and Make.com. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.5 out of 5 from 1,600 ratings | 4.4 out of 5 from 6.7K ratings |
| Rating on G2 | 4.2 out of 5 from 76 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 from 358 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.1 out of 5 from 651 reviews | 4.4 out of 5 from 1,731 reviews |
| Rating on Google Play | 2.1 out of 5 from 335 reviews | 3.3 out of 5 from 23.6K reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 4.0 out of 5 from 20,187 reviews | 3.2 out of 5 from 555 reviews |
Plans
Sage Accounting
- Sole Trader FreeFree
- Start£2 a month
- Standard£4.30 a month
- Plus£5.90 a month
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
Sage Accounting
Sage Accounting has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
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.