Wave vs FreshBooks: Free Accounting Tool or Paid Invoicing Software in 2026?

Wave vs FreshBooks is a choice between a free starting point and a billing-first paid tool. Pick Wave if you want a free place to send invoices and keep your books, and you are fine entering transactions by hand and paying card fees. Pick FreshBooks if client billing is your main job and you want proposals, time tracking and projects in one place, paying from the end of the free trial.

Both are hosted, closed-source products with no self-hosted edition. The sections below compare the free plans, pricing model, invoicing, time tracking, bank connections, users and payments from each vendor's own pages and Enlisted's catalogue data. QuickBooks, Bonsai and Invoice Ninja are in the table for context.

Wave vs FreshBooks at a glance

How do the pricing models differ?

Wave charges at the edges. The Starter plan is free, there is a single paid plan called Pro, and add-ons such as payroll are priced separately. Online card payments carry a per-transaction fee, so a business that collects mostly by card will see Wave's cost show up there rather than in a subscription.

FreshBooks charges up front, after the trial. Its pricing page splits Lite, Plus and Premium mainly by how many clients you can invoice and which accounting features are included, with Select as a custom tier. Extra team members cost a per-person fee, and payroll is an add-on. The result is predictable if your client list is stable and less so if it keeps growing.

Enlisted's live "Pricing compared" section below the guide lists plan-by-plan prices. The vendors' own Wave pricing and FreshBooks pricing pages are the place to confirm current terms.

What do you get for free?

With Wave, the Starter plan gives you unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, plus a dashboard and reports. The cost is manual work: Starter has no automatic bank import, which Wave lists as a Pro feature. See the longer breakdown of free options in the free accounting software guide.

With FreshBooks, free means a trial. Its pricing page offers unlimited access for a trial period without a credit card, then a paid plan. That is a fair way to test the workflow, but not a permanent plan, so if a zero-cost start matters, Wave or the QuickBooks free plan (see Wave vs QuickBooks) are the routes to compare.

Which is better for invoicing and getting paid?

FreshBooks goes further on the workflow around an invoice. Every plan lists unlimited invoices, recurring invoices, estimates and proposals, and the site pitches automated billing and secure online payments. E-signatures come with the Plus plan, and expenses can be captured from receipts, bank imports and a mileage tracker.

Wave's invoicing is simpler but sound: professional invoices, estimates with deposits to secure a project, and card and bank payments. The Pro plan adds your logo and brand colors, automated late payment reminders and reusable message templates. If a signed proposal comes before every invoice in your business, FreshBooks lines up better. If you send a plain invoice and want to be paid, Wave is enough.

Which handles time tracking and projects?

FreshBooks. Its site lists timesheets and time tracking, projects and collaboration, and its Premium plan adds project profitability. For consultants, agencies and anyone who bills hours, those tools sit next to the invoice.

Wave's own feature list covers accounting, invoicing, receipts, payments, estimates, payroll and a mobile app, with no time tracking or project tools. Hourly billers would need a separate timer or a different product. If that sounds like you, Bonsai, which combines proposals, contracts, time tracking and invoicing, is also worth a look.

How do bookkeeping, bank connections and accountants compare?

Both cover the basics of keeping books. Wave's accounting page describes double-entry accounting with profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow reports, and its Pro plan connects bank and credit card accounts so transactions import automatically. Accountants can be invited as collaborators, and extra users are a Pro feature.

FreshBooks lists double-entry accounting and bank reconciliation, but from the Plus plan upward, so the entry plan is closer to an invoicing tool. Accountants can be invited at no extra cost, with accountant access listed from Plus. Team members are billed per person. For a one-person business neither limit bites, but a business that wants an accountant working in the books from day one should check which tier unlocks that on each side.

What about payroll and where each works?

Payroll is a paid extra on both. Wave runs payroll for employees and contractors as a separate product, and FreshBooks lists it as an add-on available on every plan. Wave's pricing is shown in US and Canadian dollars and its site discusses Canadian payroll, so confirm your country on both vendors' sites before you commit.

What about mobile apps and receipts?

Both have phone apps. Wave's mobile app is described as a way to manage invoices, expenses and receipts on the go, though its pricing page treats receipt scanning as a paid add-on. FreshBooks lists apps for iPhone and Android, mobile receipt scanning, bank account imports and a mobile mileage tracker, with expenses and mileage listed on every plan.

If you spend your day on site visits and want to photograph receipts and log mileage as you go, the FreshBooks feature list is the more detailed of the two. If you mostly work at a desk, the difference is small.

Can you self-host Wave or FreshBooks?

No. Both are vendor-hosted and proprietary, and Enlisted lists no self-managed edition for either. If you want invoicing software on your own server, Invoice Ninja offers a hosted service and a self-hosted install, and its licence is listed as "Other". Akaunting is a modular accounting app you can run yourself, with an app store for add-ons.

Wave: best for freelancers who want a free accounting and invoicing tool

Wave is accounting and invoicing software with a free starter plan, built for freelancers and small business owners rather than accountants. It tracks income and expenses, sends invoices and estimates with deposits, accepts card and bank payments, and offers payroll and a mobile app. The Wave listing and Wave alternatives have more detail.

It suits someone who wants clean books and tidy invoices without a monthly bill, and who accepts manual transaction entry on the free plan.

• Best for: freelancers, consultants and contractors with a modest invoice volume and no need for time tracking.
• Watch out for: automatic bank import and extra users need the paid Pro plan, card payments carry fees, and there is no time tracking or project tool in its feature list.

FreshBooks: best for client work billed by time or project

FreshBooks is cloud accounting and invoicing software built around billing clients, with time tracking, projects, estimates and proposals listed in its features. It runs in the browser and has iPhone and Android apps. See the FreshBooks listing and FreshBooks alternatives.

It suits people who quote jobs, track hours and send recurring invoices, and who are happy to pay for a polished workflow once the trial ends.

• Best for: freelancers, agencies and small service businesses that bill by hours or milestones.
• Watch out for: no free plan, client limits on the lower tiers, and double-entry accounting and reconciliation only from the Plus plan.

Which should you choose, Wave or FreshBooks?

Three questions settle most cases. How do your clients pay, since card fees decide whether Wave stays cheap? Do you bill by the hour or by milestone, since that decides whether you need time tracking and proposals in the same tool? And will an accountant work in your books, since that decides whether you need FreshBooks' Plus plan or Wave's Pro?

To sum up: Wave is the better fit when free matters and your billing is simple, and FreshBooks is the better fit when your work is time, projects and proposals. Test either with a month of your own invoices before moving your records.

What other options are there?

• QuickBooks is a broader accounting family with a free plan, paid tiers and tools for accountants. See FreshBooks vs QuickBooks and QuickBooks alternatives.
• Bonsai combines client management, proposals, contracts, time tracking and invoicing for freelancers and small agencies.
• Invoice Ninja covers invoices, quotes, projects and time tracking, hosted or self-hosted.

For longer lists, see FreshBooks alternatives, the finance category and how Enlisted ranks tools.