Wave alternatives, 2026

Wave is one of four tools in StackScope's accounting report. The table below shows the other three, QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks, using the same verified figures as the full report, last verified October 2026. Prices, free-plan limits and catches are shown as reported, with sources on each vendor's pricing page.

Compare directly: Wave vs QuickBooks · Wave vs Xero · Wave vs FreshBooks

Vendor pricing: Wave: full Wave pricing · QuickBooks Online pricing · Xero pricing · FreshBooks pricing

Tool	Free plan	Entry tier	Mid tier	Highest public price	Aggregated sentiment
QuickBooks Online	30-day free trial; no ongoing free plan. [VENDOR]Simple Start allows 1 user + 2 accountant accesses. [VENDOR]	$38/mo standardSimple Start · MONTHLY: $38 standard. Intuit's current dedicated discount page explicitly advertises 50% off for 3 months for new customers (Simple Start $19/mo during the promo; free trials not eligible) [VENDOR]. Other current Intuit pages still show stale/conflicting older figures and 90%-off text — use $38 standard and flag those pages as stale. ANNUAL: $456/year — derived, straight 12× standard monthly, not a published vendor annual-billing rate [DERIVED — VENDOR]. 5 users: N/A — entry tier supports 1 user; moving up tiers is required. [VENDOR]	$85/moEssentials · 3 users + 2 accountants [VENDOR]. Named mid tier, not used for the fixed 5-user breakpoint since this tier itself only supports 3. New tier confirmed between Essentials and Advanced: Plus, $140/mo, 5 users + 2 accountants — adds inventory, project profitability and budgeting. [VENDOR] Other current Intuit pages still show stale Essentials $75/Plus $115/Advanced $275 figures — do not use those; $85/$140/$340 are the current standard list prices.	$340/moAdvanced · 25 users + 3 accountants [VENDOR]. Publicly priced list price, not Contact Sales. Adds custom roles, automated workflows, advanced/custom reporting, unlimited classes/locations, backup/restore and Priority Circle support.	Catch: pricing increases and support inconsistency recur in reviews. [3P — G2] Praise centers on ease of use, broad accounting workflows, bank connections, and integrations. G2's review summary also flags expense tracking, missing features, and support as recurring negatives. G2/Capterra currently still list the stale Essentials $75/Plus $115/Advanced $275 figures, which conflict with Intuit's current $85/$140/$340 — flagged, not used. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced. Invoices/bills/clients: no numeric cap found beyond user limits. Upgrade trigger: needing more than 1 user, or inventory/project profitability (Plus). AI: no separate AI add-on price found; Intuit Intelligence (25 prompts/month) plus tier-dependent Accounting AI, Payments AI, Sales Tax AI, Customer AI, Finance AI and Project Management AI are bundled into the relevant tiers, not sold separately. [VENDOR]
Xero	30-day free trial; no ongoing free plan. [VENDOR]Accountant/bookkeeper access included at no extra cost. [VENDOR]	[PRICE INCREASE — Oct 1, 2026] $27/mo standardEarly · MONTHLY: $27 standard, up from $25, effective October 1, 2026; applies to new and existing US subscribers, excludes add-ons and sales tax [VENDOR]. Xero's current main US pricing page advertises 80% off for the first 3 months (code DC80325309US) = $5.40/mo for 3 months, then $27 — other current Xero pages still display the prior 90%-off-for-6-months offer, a live vendor-source conflict; verify the active offer at checkout. [VENDOR — source conflict] ANNUAL: not publicly offered — monthly-only public pricing. Xero states no per-user license fees, so 1-user and 5-user prices are identical. [VENDOR] Early remains capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills.	[PRICE INCREASE — Oct 1, 2026] $59/mo standardGrowing · MONTHLY: $59 standard, up from $55, effective October 1, 2026 [VENDOR]. Current main page promo = $11.80/mo for first 3 months, then $59 — see Early's cell for the promo source conflict. ANNUAL: not publicly offered. Removes Early's invoice/bill caps. JAX automated reconciliation available starting here, not on Early.	[PRICE INCREASE — Oct 1, 2026] $97/mo standardEstablished · MONTHLY: $97 standard, up from $90, effective October 1, 2026 [VENDOR]. Current main page promo = $19.40/mo for first 3 months, then $97 — see Early's cell for the promo source conflict. ANNUAL: not publicly offered. Publicly priced, not Contact Sales.	Catch: advanced reporting/customization and occasional bank-feed issues are recurring complaints. [3P — G2] Reviewers consistently praise the clean interface, ease of use, invoicing, and reconciliation. Capterra currently shows stale pre-increase figures ($25/$55) and G2 shows even older figures ($13/$37/$70) — both conflict with Xero's current Oct. 1 pricing and are flagged, not used. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: unlimited on every tier, no per-user fee. Invoices/bills/clients: Early capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills/month; Growing and Established remove that cap. Upgrade trigger: exceeding Early's invoice/bill volume, or needing JAX automated reconciliation. AI: JAX (Xero's AI finance partner) carries no additional charge; JAX automated reconciliation is bundled starting on Growing, not available on Early. [VENDOR]
FreshBooks	30-day free trial; no ongoing free version. [VENDOR / 3P — Capterra]	$23/mo standardLite · MONTHLY: $23 standard. FreshBooks' current pricing page still displays 90% off for 3 months ($2.30/mo), while FreshBooks' own formal offer terms previously stated that version of the promotion ended August 18, 2026 — this conflict has not been cleanly resolved; the current page keeps showing 90% off despite that stated expiration, so don't treat the promo as definitely verified. [VENDOR — source conflict] ANNUAL: $248.40/year — now vendor-published in FreshBooks' 2026 price-change FAQ (includes a stated 10% discount vs. monthly), not a derived figure. [VENDOR] 1 included user; additional Team Members are $11/mo each. Other published add-ons: Advanced Payments $20/mo, FreshBooks Payroll $40/mo + $6/mo per user. 5-user equivalent: $67/mo, assuming 1 included user + 4 paid Team Members [DERIVED — VENDOR: $23 + 4×$11]. Lite supports 5 billable clients.	$43/moPlus · [VENDOR] 50 billable clients; adds receipt scanning and accounting reports. ANNUAL: $464.40/year, vendor-published (10% discount vs. monthly). [VENDOR]	$70/moPremium · [VENDOR] unlimited clients. ANNUAL: $756.00/year, vendor-published (10% discount vs. monthly). [VENDOR] Select tier above this is Contact Sales/custom, not publicly priced.	Catch: client caps and paid team-member add-ons can raise the real cost as a business grows. [3P — G2; 3P — Capterra] Praise is dominated by ease of use, invoicing, quick setup, and customer support. Reporting limitations and per-client pricing recur as complaints. Capterra currently lists Lite $21/Plus $38/Premium $65, and G2 shows the promotional $2.30/$4.30/$7.00 figures plus a separate G2 Deals 90%-off-for-4-months offer — none of these match FreshBooks' current $23/$43/$70 standard prices; flagged, not used. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: 1 included, additional Team Members $11/mo each. Invoices/bills/clients: Lite 5 billable clients; Plus 50; Premium and Select unlimited. Upgrade trigger: exceeding 5 clients, or needing more than 1 user without paying per-seat. AI: no separate AI add-on price found; recurring invoices and automated bank import are bundled into the tier, with receipt scanning bundled starting on Plus. [VENDOR]

FAQ

Common questions

What are the main alternatives to Wave?

In StackScope's accounting report, the other tools compared are QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks.

Where do these prices come from?

From each vendor's own pricing pages, cross-checked against independent sources and last verified October 2026. See the accounting report and each vendor's pricing page for the full source list.