Home / Accounting Software / Wave vs QuickBooks Online
Head-to-head
Wave vs QuickBooks Online pricing
Wave's free accounting plan is the usual alternative to QuickBooks for very small businesses. This page compares them using StackScope's accounting report, last verified October 2026.
Wave's Starter plan is $0 and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, against $38 per month for QuickBooks Simple Start. Wave's paid Pro tier is $19 per month or $190 per year, priced per business profile with unlimited user access, so 1-user and 5-user prices are identical. QuickBooks Simple Start covers only 1 user plus 2 accountant accesses, and Essentials is $85 per month for 3 users plus 2 accountants. Wave's online payments, receipt scanning and payroll are separate paid add-ons, so the free plan is not the whole cost if you use them. Wave currently runs a $9.50 promotion for the first 3 months of Pro, and Intuit advertises 50% off for 3 months for new customers, so treat both as promotional rather than standing rates.
| Tool | Free plan | Entry tier | Mid tier | Highest public price | Aggregated sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Ongoing Starter plan: $0. [VENDOR]Includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. Online payments, receipt scanning, and payroll are separate paid add-ons — not part of the free plan's limitations, but genuinely optional extras. [VENDOR] | $19/mo standardPro · MONTHLY: $19 standard; $9.50/mo current promo for first 3 months — not the standard price [VENDOR]. ANNUAL: $190/year — vendor-published annual-billing price [VENDOR]; annual promo price not publicly specified. Pro is priced per business profile, not per owner or per seat, and includes unlimited user access — 1-user and 5-user prices are identical. [VENDOR] | — (by design)No public mid tier exists — this is not a research gap. Wave currently presents Pro as its only paid subscription tier; there is no distinct mid-tier product to price. [VENDOR] | $19/moPro · $19/mo monthly or $190/year annual. [VENDOR] Publicly priced; no Contact Sales tier exists above it. | Catch: payment processing fees are where Wave's real cost lives, not the subscription price. Starter charges 2.9% + $0.60 per Visa/Mastercard/Discover transaction and 3.4% + $0.60 for Amex; Pro waives the fixed $0.60 fee for the first 10 qualifying transactions in each monthly subscription period, then reverts to the same rate as Starter for the rest [VENDOR — Wave's own payments pages]. On high-volume invoicing this adds up fast and is easy to miss when comparing Wave's low subscription price against competitors. [3P — G2] Users consistently praise the free core, simple interface, and invoicing/bookkeeping value. Capterra currently confirms Pro $19 and the free tier; G2's current pricing page is stale and focuses on older Wave payroll products rather than the current Starter/Pro accounting subscription — its review data still supports the free-tier/value sentiment theme. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: unlimited on both Starter and Pro, priced per business profile not per seat. Invoices/bills/clients: unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records on both tiers. Upgrade trigger: wanting bank import automation, receipt capture bundled in, the first-10-transaction fee waiver, or online payments/payroll access. AI: no separate AI add-on price found; automatic bank import, transaction categorization, and unlimited receipt capture are bundled into Pro. Receipt scanning alone is also available standalone on Starter at $8/month or $72/year for those who don't want the full Pro upgrade. [VENDOR] |
| 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] |
Figures are aggregated from vendor pricing pages and independent third-party pricing research as of October 2026 and reflect published list prices. This page shows two of the four tools in the full Accounting Software report, which carries the complete footnotes and every source conflict we flagged. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor before purchasing. This is not a recommendation to buy any specific product.
FAQ
Common questions
Is Wave really free?
Its Starter plan is $0 and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records. Online payments, receipt scanning and payroll are separate paid add-ons.
How does Wave Pro compare with QuickBooks Simple Start?
Wave Pro is $19 per month or $190 per year with unlimited users, against $38 per month for QuickBooks Simple Start, which covers 1 user plus 2 accountant accesses.
Does Wave charge per user?
No. Pro is priced per business profile and includes unlimited user access, so 1-user and 5-user prices are identical.
More
Keep comparing
See all four tools in the full Accounting Software report →
Vendor pricing: Wave pricing · QuickBooks Online pricing