Yes, and the free plan is a real one. It’s also not the Wave that people remember, and the gap between those two facts is where the confusion lives.
Here’s the short answer, and then the part that matters more.
Wave introduced tiered pricing in February 2024. The free tier — now called Starter — still exists and still does genuine double-entry accounting. What moved behind a paywall is automatic bank feeds. You can connect a bank account on the free plan, but transactions come in read-only; importing them for reconciliation is a Pro feature.
That’s the change people keep correcting each other about in forums, and both sides are half right.
Published figures for Wave Pro disagree between sources — $16 and $19 monthly both appear, as do $170 and $190 annually, with at least one indication of a change during 2026. Check Wave’s own pricing page before deciding anything. This page is reviewed quarterly.
What each tier actually gives you
View data
| Cost | Annual amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wave Pro subscription | $228 / year | Using roughly $19 a month. Published figures disagree — verify with Wave. |
| Card processing fees | $4,200 / year | $10,000 × 2.9% × 12 = $3,480, plus $0.60 × 100 × 12 = $720. |
| Ratio | About 18× | Processing costs roughly eighteen times the subscription at this volume. |
Illustrative, based on $10,000 monthly card volume across roughly 100 transactions at published rates. Your figures will differ. Pro pricing varies between published sources — verify with Wave. Rates checked December 2026.
| Starter | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | ~$16–19/mo, ~$170–190/yr |
| Double-entry accounting | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited invoicing and estimates | Yes | Yes |
| Income and expense tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Financial reports | Basic | Full |
| Bank connection | Read-only | Automatic imports |
| Receipt scanning (OCR) | $8/mo add-on | Included |
| Collaborators | Limited | Unlimited |
| Wave branding on invoices | Yes | Removed |
| Support | Limited | Priority |
The one that decides it for most people is the bank feed. Without automatic imports you’re downloading a statement and importing it manually — reportedly about fifteen minutes a month for a low-volume business, which is entirely survivable, and completely impractical past a certain transaction count.
The genuinely notable thing about Starter: it’s real double-entry accounting on a free plan. Most free tools use a simplified ledger that produces statements an accountant then has to rebuild. Wave doesn’t. That’s unusual and it’s the reason the free tier is worth taking seriously at all.
Related: When a spreadsheet is genuinely enough
The subscription was never the price
This is the part almost nobody covering Wave says plainly, and it changes the question.
Wave doesn’t make its money from the subscription. It makes it from payment processing and payroll. The free accounting tier isn’t a loss leader in the marketing sense — it’s the front end of a payments business, and it always has been.
Wave doesn’t make its money from the subscription. It makes it from payment processing and payroll.
Which means the real cost question isn’t $0 versus $19 a month. It’s what you pay to get paid.
| Charge | Rate |
|---|---|
| Card payments | 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction |
| American Express | 3.4% + $0.60 per transaction |
| Bank payments (ACH) | 1%, $1 minimum |
| Instant Payouts | additional 1% on top of processing |
| Payroll | $40/mo + $6 per active employee or contractor |
| Bookkeeping support | from $149/mo |
Run the arithmetic on your own invoice volume. A business processing $10,000 a month in card payments pays around $290 in processing fees — roughly fifteen times the Pro subscription. At that scale the question “is the software free” is close to irrelevant.
Pro is described both as waiving the $0.60 fixed processing fee entirely and as waiving it only on the first ten card transactions each month. For a high-volume invoicer those are very different propositions, and it’s the term that decides whether Pro pays for itself.
One detail worth checking directly, because sources disagree: Pro is described both as waiving the $0.60 fixed fee entirely and as waiving it only on the first ten card transactions per month. Those are very different propositions for a high-volume invoicer, and it’s exactly the kind of term that decides whether Pro pays for itself. Confirm it with Wave rather than with an article.
Who Wave still genuinely suits
Being specific, because “it depends” is useless.
Related: Platform choice by what your business actually is
Wave versus QuickBooks, honestly
Not a fair fight, and not meant to be — they’re aimed at different businesses.
Wave is cheaper by a very wide margin. QuickBooks Online Simple Start is $38 a month after the August 2026 increase; Wave Starter is $0 and Pro is under $20. For a freelancer that difference is the whole decision.
QuickBooks does more, and the gap widens as you grow. Inventory, sales tax automation, native payroll with tax filing, class and location tracking, a deep app ecosystem, and — the one that decides it most often — the fact that your accountant almost certainly already works in it.
That last point isn’t a feature comparison. A platform your accountant doesn’t work in costs you more in their hours than you save in subscription fees, and it’s the most reliable predictor of what a small business ends up using.
Related: Why your clients use the software you use · QuickBooks price increase, August 2026
The short version
- Yes, Wave is still free— the Starter tier costs $0 and does genuine double-entry accounting, which is unusual for a free plan.
- Tiered pricing arrived in February 2024. The main thing that moved behind the paywall is automatic bank imports. You can connect a bank on Starter, but only in read-only mode.
- Pro is roughly $16–19 a month. Sources disagree on the exact figure and at least one indicates a 2026 change — verify with Wave directly.
- The subscription was never the price. Wave’s revenue comes from payment processing and payroll, so your real cost is set by how you get paid, not by which tier you’re on.
- Processing runs 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction, 1% on ACH, with payroll separate at $40/mo plus per-employee fees.
- Starter genuinely suitssolo freelancers with simple books who don’t mind manual imports.
- Wave stops working at employees, multi-jurisdiction sales tax, inventory, multi-currency, or outside the US and Canada.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave accounting still free in 2026?
Yes. The Starter tier costs $0 and includes unlimited invoicing and estimates, income and expense tracking, basic reports, and genuine double-entry accounting — which is unusual for a free plan. What moved behind a paywall in February 2024 is automatic bank transaction imports; on Starter you can connect a bank account but only in read-only mode.
How much does Wave Pro cost?
Published figures disagree. Both $16 and $19 per month appear across sources, along with $170 and $190 annually, and there are indications of a change during 2026. Check Wave’s own pricing page before deciding, since this is exactly the detail that moves.
What's the difference between Wave Starter and Wave Pro?
The main one is automatic bank imports — Starter connects accounts in read-only mode while Pro imports transactions automatically. Pro also includes receipt scanning by OCR, which is an $8 monthly add-on otherwise, unlimited collaborators, removal of Wave branding from invoices, priority support and fuller reporting.
Does Wave charge for bank connections?
Connecting a bank account is available on the free Starter tier, but in read-only mode. Automatically importing those transactions for reconciliation requires the paid Pro plan. This is the change that most often surprises people who used Wave before 2024.
What does Wave actually charge for?
Payment processing and payroll rather than the subscription. Card payments are 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction, American Express is 3.4% plus $0.60, bank payments are 1% with a $1 minimum, and Instant Payouts add a further 1%. Payroll is separate at $40 a month plus $6 per active employee or contractor. For a business taking meaningful card volume, processing fees dwarf the subscription.
Is Wave better than QuickBooks for a small business?
For a solo freelancer with simple books, Wave is far cheaper and does the job — QuickBooks Online Simple Start is $38 a month after the August 2026 increase. QuickBooks does considerably more as a business grows: inventory, sales tax automation, native payroll with tax filing, and a deeper app ecosystem. The most decisive factor is usually whether your accountant works in it, since a platform they don’t know costs more in their hours than you save in fees.
When should I move off Wave?
When you take on employees, start collecting sales tax across jurisdictions, carry inventory, need multi-currency, or operate outside the US and Canada — Wave serves those two markets only. Also when your accountant needs to work in the file alongside you regularly, which is where platform familiarity starts to cost more than the subscription saves.
QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor and Xero Certified Advisor. Leads delivery for US CPA firm engagements at Nimblechapps Finance.
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