Head to head

Wave vs QuickBooks Online

Wave is free accounting software with paid extras. QuickBooks Online is a paid subscription with more included. For a freelancer or a very small business, the real question is which extras you'd end up paying for on Wave, and whether QuickBooks' bundle costs less than adding them one by one.

Who each one is for

Choose Wave if

You're a freelancer or a one-person business, you invoice and track expenses, and you'd rather pay only for the extras you use.

Choose QuickBooks Online if

You have bills to pay, more than one person in the books, inventory or projects, or you want payroll and receipt capture in one subscription.

Wave and QuickBooks Online, side by side

Checked against both vendors' own pricing and product pages on October 22, 2026. Prices exclude tax and promotions. Plans change often: confirm the details on each vendor's site before you decide.

Price: Wave: Starter free; Pro US$19 or CA$25 a month per business; QuickBooks Online: Lite $20, EasyStart $30, Plus $110, Advanced $220 CAD a month
Invoices, estimates and bills: Wave: Unlimited on Starter; QuickBooks Online: Invoicing on every plan; bills from Plus
Bank transactions: Wave: Bank connection on Starter; automatic import and categorization on Pro, where the bank supports Plaid; QuickBooks Online: Included
Receipt scanning: Wave: Add-on on Starter, US$11 a month; unlimited on Pro; QuickBooks Online: Included from EasyStart
Users: Wave: Admin, editor and viewer roles on Pro; QuickBooks Online: 1 on Lite and EasyStart, up to 5 on Plus, up to 25 on Advanced
Card payments: Wave: 2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); Pro waives the $0.60 on the first 10 a month; QuickBooks Online: Through QuickBooks Payments
Payroll: Wave: Add-on, from $25 to $40 a month; QuickBooks Online: QuickBooks Payroll add-on, from $30 a month plus $5 per employee
Projects and inventory: Wave: Not part of the plans listed; QuickBooks Online: Included on Plus and Advanced
Bookkeeping help: Wave: Wave Advisors, from $149 a month, with a dedicated bookkeeper; QuickBooks Online: Through QuickBooks' accountant network

Capability	Wave	QuickBooks Online
Price	Starter free; Pro US$19 or CA$25 a month per business	Lite $20, EasyStart $30, Plus $110, Advanced $220 CAD a month
Invoices, estimates and bills	Unlimited on Starter	Invoicing on every plan; bills from Plus
Bank transactions	Bank connection on Starter; automatic import and categorization on Pro, where the bank supports Plaid	Included
Receipt scanning	Add-on on Starter, US$11 a month; unlimited on Pro	Included from EasyStart
Users	Admin, editor and viewer roles on Pro	1 on Lite and EasyStart, up to 5 on Plus, up to 25 on Advanced
Card payments	2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); Pro waives the $0.60 on the first 10 a month	Through QuickBooks Payments
Payroll	Add-on, from $25 to $40 a month	QuickBooks Payroll add-on, from $30 a month plus $5 per employee
Projects and inventory	Not part of the plans listed	Included on Plus and Advanced
Bookkeeping help	Wave Advisors, from $149 a month, with a dedicated bookkeeper	Through QuickBooks' accountant network

The differences that decide it

Free to start, paid to automate

Wave Starter is free with unlimited invoices, estimates and bills, but the time savers cost extra: automatic bank import and unlimited receipt scanning come with Pro, and receipt scanning on Starter is an add-on. QuickBooks includes bank feeds and receipt capture in its paid plans.

One business, one price

Wave Pro is priced per business, not per user. QuickBooks prices by plan with a user cap, which only matters once more than one person works in the books.

Where Wave stops

Wave doesn't list projects or inventory. QuickBooks Plus includes both, along with multi-currency, budgeting and class tracking. A business that's outgrowing simple invoicing usually feels it there first.

Payments and payroll

Both sell online card payments and payroll as extras. Wave's card fees are on its pricing page, with a break on the first 10 transactions for Pro. QuickBooks Payroll is priced per month plus a fee per employee.

How to choose

Add up Wave with the extras you'd use

Wave Pro at CA$25 a month gets you automatic bank import, unlimited receipt scanning, user roles and payment reminders. That's still cheaper than QuickBooks EasyStart at $30, and Pro isn't capped at one user.

The comparison changes when you need bills, inventory, projects or multi-currency. On QuickBooks those start at Plus, $110 a month. Wave doesn't list them. The question becomes whether you've outgrown it.

Who each one suits

Wave fits freelancers, consultants and very small service businesses that invoice clients and track expenses. QuickBooks fits a business that buys stock, pays suppliers on terms, runs payroll in the same system or has an accountant who prefers it.

If you're not sure, start on Wave Starter. It costs nothing, and moving to QuickBooks later at year-end is a common path.

Watch the introductory prices

QuickBooks often shows a large discount for the first months; at the time of checking it was 90% off for six months. Wave has run limited promotions on Pro too. Budget on the regular price, which both charge once the offer ends.

Getting paid online

Wave charges 2.9% + $0.60 per card payment (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex). On Pro, the $0.60 is waived on the first 10 transactions each month. Pro also sends invoices with online payment, late payment reminders and your logo, without Wave's branding.

QuickBooks takes card payments through QuickBooks Payments. Check its current rates on Intuit's site and compare them on your own monthly volume.

If you'd rather not do the books

Wave Advisors, from $149 a month, adds a dedicated bookkeeper, monthly financial statements and tax-ready books, with onboarding from other software. It's the option for an owner who wants Wave's price on the software and someone else doing the bookkeeping.

Where Smartbills fits

Smartbills isn't accounting software. It gets receipts into whichever one you use: itemized receipts sent through Smartbills, receipts found in your email and photos read down to each tax line, posted to QuickBooks Online with GST, HST and QST split out. For a freelancer, it's the part of bookkeeping that usually piles up. We've written our own comparison against each.

Smartbills vs Wave Smartbills vs QuickBooks Online

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Wave Starter is free, with unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records. Automatic bank import and unlimited receipt scanning come with Pro, at US$19 or CA$25 a month. Card payments and payroll cost extra on both plans.

It is once you need bills, inventory, projects, multi-currency or several users with set permissions. For a freelancer who invoices and tracks expenses, Wave usually covers it for less.

Wave lists payroll as an add-on priced from $25 to $40 a month, but its pricing page doesn't say which regions it covers. Check Wave's payroll page for your province before you count on it.

Yes. Most businesses switch at year-end, export their customers, vendors and reports from Wave, and keep the Wave records for the CRA's retention period.

QuickBooks includes receipt capture from EasyStart up. Wave includes unlimited receipt scanning on Pro and sells it as an add-on on Starter. Both read a photo of the receipt rather than the itemized receipt from the store.

No. Wave Pro is priced per business, with admin, editor and viewer roles. QuickBooks caps users by plan: one on Lite and EasyStart, five on Plus and 25 on Advanced.

Yes, on Pro. It removes the Wave footer, adds your logo and brand colors, and sends invoices with online payment, attachments and late payment reminders.

Where these facts come from

Get started

Compare on your own data, not ours.

Connect a card feed and your ledger, run it for a month and count the transactions that ended up with an itemized document attached. That number is the comparison that matters.

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