FreshBooks vs Wave
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FreshBooks
Accounting Software
- Score
- Not yet scored
- Price
- Flat rate from $23/mo
- Suits
- Solo, Small teams (2–50)
- Free option
- None
- No preview yet
Wave
Accounting Software
- Score
- Not yet scored
- Price
- Free plan, paid from $19/mo
- Suits
- Solo, Small teams (2–50)
- Free option
- Free plan
Our verdict
It depends on your prioritiesPaid invoicing with a client ceiling against free invoicing with a feature ceiling.
TechBigs verdict, published Sep 4, 2026
Wave is the better answer for a freelancer who needs to send invoices and keep books for nothing. FreshBooks earns US$23 a month when time tracking, projects and proposals are part of how you bill.
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The price of the first plan
Wave's Starter plan is free with unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% plus US$0.60 a transaction. Pro is US$19 a month or US$190 a year. FreshBooks starts at US$23 a month for five billable clients, US$43 for fifty and US$70 for unlimited. Extra team members are US$11 a month each.
What Wave charges for
The Wave upgrade is about automation rather than capability: automatic bank import and categorisation, unlimited receipt capture, late payment reminders, custom branding and a lower card rate on the first ten transactions a month. On the free plan you enter transactions yourself. For a business with a few dozen transactions a month, that is a real cost measured in time rather than money.
Who each one is really for
FreshBooks states time tracking, expense receipt scanning, bank reconciliation and a payroll add-on, and organises everything around billable clients. Wave states invoicing, receipt capture, bank import and payroll. It has no client ceiling at all, which suits a business with many small customers, and no project or time features, which does not suit one that bills by the hour.
Where they differ
2 facts that can decide it; identical facts are below- PricingFreshBooks: Flat rate from $23/moWave: Free plan, paid from $19/mo
- Free optionFreshBooks: NoneWave: Free plan
Everything else
Same on both unless markedBasics
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| Basics | FreshBooks | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing (products differ) | Flat rate from $23/mo | Free plan, paid from $19/mo |
| Pricing model (products differ) | Flat rate | Free plan available |
| Free plan (products differ) | No | Yes |
| Category | Accounting Software | Accounting Software |
| Product type | SaaS | SaaS |
| Free trial | No | No |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Team size | Solo, Small teams (2–50) | Solo, Small teams (2–50) |
Pricing
FreshBooks
- Lite$23/mo
Flat rate
- Plus$43/mo
Flat rate
- Premium$70/mo
Flat rate
- SelectOn request
Contact sales
Wave
- StarterFree
Free
- Pro$19/mo
Flat rate
- Wave Advisors$149/mo
Flat rate
Features
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| Feature | FreshBooks | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Project and time tracking (products differ) | Yes | Not verified |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank feeds and reconciliation | Yes | Yes |
| Expense and receipt tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Not verified | Not verified |
| Tax and VAT reporting | Not verified | Not verified |
| Inventory tracking | Not verified | Not verified |
| Payroll | Yes | Yes |
Integrations
Scroll sideways to see every product.
| Integration | FreshBooks | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks (products differ) | Not listed | Native |
| Xero (products differ) | Not listed | Native |
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