Last updated: July 2026 · Prices and features verified quarterly. Always confirm current details on the Wave site before you subscribe.
Wave Starter, the free plan, is enough for most freelancers. It sends unlimited invoices and keeps real books at no monthly cost. Upgrade to Wave Pro at $19 per month only when you want automatic bank imports, receipt capture, automated payment reminders, and lower card fees. The plan is cheap either way; the real cost of Wave is the payment processing, not the subscription. For most solo earners, starting free and upgrading only when the work demands it is the smart move.
Wave keeps its pricing refreshingly simple. There are just two plans, Starter and Pro, and one of them is free. That makes the choice easier than most accounting tools, but it does not make it obvious. The free plan does more than you would expect, and the paid plan is about convenience rather than core features.
This guide compares the two Wave plans on what actually changes between them. You will see a side-by-side table, an honest breakdown of each tier, the payment and payroll fees that matter more than the subscription, and a clear rule for when the free plan is enough and when Pro earns its keep. By the end you will know exactly which Wave plan fits your freelance business.
Wave plans compared at a glance
Here is how Starter and Pro line up. Both plans share the same core invoicing and bookkeeping. The gap is automation and payment fees, not the basic ability to run your books.
| Feature | Starter (free) | Pro ($19/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | $19 (or $190/yr) |
| Invoices & bookkeeping | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Automatic bank import | Manual entry | Yes, auto-categorized |
| Receipt capture | No | Yes |
| Card fee per transaction | 2.9% + 60¢ | 2.9% + 0¢ first 10/mo |
| Best for | Lean, simple freelancers | Busy or high-volume billers |
How we compared the plans
We judged Wave the way a freelancer on a budget would. The first question was what the free plan actually leaves out, because a free tool is only a bargain if it does the job. The second was whether Pro’s upgrades are worth a real monthly cost, or just nice to have.
We then looked past the subscription to the fees that quietly drive Wave’s true cost, namely payment processing and payroll. A free plan can still cost you real money when clients pay by card. Below, each plan gets its own heading, its real numbers, and a plain note on who it fits.
Wave Starter
Best for lean freelancers who want free, real books. Starter is Wave’s free plan, and it is unusually capable for zero dollars. You get unlimited invoices, unlimited estimates, bill tracking, and genuine double-entry bookkeeping records. The mobile app lets you invoice from anywhere, and clients can pay online if you switch on payments.
The trade-off is manual work and thinner support. Starter does not connect to your bank automatically, so you import and categorize transactions by hand. It also skips receipt capture and automated late-payment reminders, and live human support is reserved for paying users. None of that stops you from keeping accurate books; it just takes a little more of your time.
Even free, Starter gives you the reports a solo business relies on. You can pull a profit and loss statement, track what clients owe you, and see your income and expenses at a glance from the dashboard. Recurring invoices and customer records are included too, so the free plan handles the everyday work of getting paid without nagging you to upgrade.
Starter suits a new or small freelance business that values free over hands-off. If you send a handful of invoices a month and do not mind a few minutes of data entry, it may be all you ever need. Many freelancers run on the free plan for years without hitting a wall.
See Wave Starter →Skip it if: you want automatic bank feeds, receipt scanning, or live support. Those are Pro features.
Wave Pro
Best for busy freelancers who want automation and lower fees. Pro costs $19 per month, or $190 per year, and Wave often runs an introductory rate for the first few months. It keeps everything in Starter and adds the conveniences that save time. The headline upgrades are automatic bank imports with auto-categorization, receipt capture, and automated late-payment reminders that chase clients for you.
The quiet win is on fees. Pro waives the 60-cent per-transaction charge on your first ten card payments each month, which adds up if you invoice often. You also get better customer support than free users. For a freelancer processing steady card volume, the fee savings alone can offset part of the subscription.
Pro makes sense once your time is worth more than the manual entry it removes, or once your card volume is high enough that the fee break matters. For a very light workload, it is a convenience you can skip. For a growing practice, it turns Wave into a near hands-off system.
See Wave Pro →Skip it if: you send few invoices and do not mind manual entry. Starter does the same core job for free.
The fees that matter more than the plan
Wave’s subscription is almost a side note. The money you actually pay Wave usually comes from payments and payroll. Understanding those charges before you sign up matters far more than choosing between Starter and Pro, because they scale with your business.
When a client pays an invoice by card, Wave charges 2.9% plus 60 cents on standard cards and 3.4% plus 60 cents on American Express. Bank transfer payments cost 1% with a one-dollar minimum, which is much cheaper for larger invoices. On Pro, the 60-cent fee disappears on your first ten card transactions each month, and after that the standard rate returns. If you want payroll, Wave Payroll is a separate add-on starting around $25 per month plus roughly $6 per employee or contractor. There is also Wave Advisors, an optional bookkeeping and coaching service priced on request.
| Charge | Starter | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Credit / debit card | 2.9% + 60¢ | 2.9% + 0¢ (first 10/mo) |
| American Express | 3.4% + 60¢ | 3.4% + 0¢ (first 10/mo) |
| Bank transfer (ACH) | 1% ($1 min) | 1% ($1 min) |
| Payroll add-on | From ~$25/mo + $6/person | From ~$25/mo + $6/person |
When does Wave Pro pay for itself?
The upgrade math is simple once you know your habits. Pro costs $19 a month, so the question is whether its time savings and fee breaks are worth that. Two things tip the scale: how many card payments you take, and how much you value your own time.
On fees alone, the waived 60 cents on ten monthly card transactions is worth up to six dollars a month. That is a real dent in the subscription, but it rarely covers the whole thing by itself. The bigger value is time. If automatic bank imports and receipt capture save you an hour or two of monthly bookkeeping, and your hour is worth more than a few dollars, Pro pays for itself in convenience. For a freelancer billing many clients, the answer is usually yes. For someone sending two invoices a month, the free plan wins. Before you decide, it helps to know your real numbers, including how much to set aside for taxes.
Budget around your real cash flow
Wave tracks your income, but it will not tell you how much to keep for taxes or hold as a buffer. Our free calculators do that math in seconds, so you choose a plan that fits your actual cash flow.
Open the free calculators →What Wave leaves out on either plan
Some limits apply no matter which plan you pick, and they are worth knowing before you commit. Wave is a lean tool by design, so a few features that rival products include are simply absent here. None of these are dealbreakers for a typical freelancer, but they shape who Wave suits.
The biggest gap is tax. Unlike QuickBooks Solopreneur, Wave does not estimate your quarterly federal taxes or map spending to Schedule C, so that math stays on you or your accountant. Wave is also built for the United States and Canada, which matters if you invoice heavily in other currencies. Project profitability tracking and time tracking are not part of the package either, so freelancers who bill by the hour may miss them. Support remains lighter than paid competitors, with live help concentrated on Pro users and add-on customers. These are the trade-offs you accept in return for genuinely free, capable books.
Which Wave plan should you choose?
Start with your invoice volume and your tolerance for manual work. Those two answers settle the choice quickly. There is no penalty for starting free and upgrading later, so you can always change your mind.
If you are a new freelancer, a side hustler, or anyone who sends a small number of invoices and does not mind a little data entry, choose Starter and keep your costs at zero. If you invoice often, take a lot of card payments, or simply want your books to update themselves, choose Pro for the automation and the fee break. And if you need payroll or hands-on bookkeeping help, add those services on top of whichever plan you pick.
When in doubt, begin on the free plan and watch for friction. The moment manual entry starts eating real time, or your card volume climbs past ten payments a month, Pro becomes an easy call. For a wider view of your options, see our guide to the best accounting software for freelancers, and if you are weighing Wave against paid tools, our FreshBooks plans comparison and QuickBooks Solopreneur breakdown are worth a read.
Conclusion
Wave makes the plan decision about as easy as accounting software gets. For most freelancers, the free Starter plan is genuinely enough, pairing unlimited invoices with real double-entry books at no monthly cost. Pro is not about unlocking essentials; it is about buying convenience and a small fee break. At $19 a month, it earns its place once automation saves you more time than it costs.
Whichever plan you choose, keep your eye on the fees rather than the sticker price. Card processing and payroll are where Wave actually adds up, so route larger payments through bank transfer where you can and add payroll only when you need it. Run your tax and cash-flow numbers first, start on the plan that matches your workload, and upgrade the moment the free plan starts costing you time. That keeps Wave doing what it does best, which is keeping good books without draining your budget.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave still free in 2026?
Yes. The Wave Starter plan is free with unlimited invoices and bookkeeping, though payment processing fees still apply when clients pay online.
What is the difference between Wave Starter and Pro?
Pro adds automatic bank imports, receipt capture, automated payment reminders, and waived per-transaction fees on your first ten card payments each month. Starter covers the same core invoicing and books for free.
How much does Wave Pro cost?
Wave Pro costs $19 per month or $190 per year, often with an introductory discount for the first few months.
Does Wave charge fees on the free plan?
Only on payments and add-ons. Card payments cost 2.9% plus 60 cents, bank transfers cost 1%, and payroll is a separate add-on.
Prices, plans, and features change often. This page is reviewed quarterly and was last verified in July 2026. Confirm current details with Wave before subscribing. Freelance Treasury is not an accountant and does not provide tax or financial advice.