GnuCash
Focus: finance, budget and open source. Shares accounting and bookkeeping with Wave. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Same 4.4 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit
Web App
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping software for small businesses.
Rating
4.4 / 5
Pricing
Freemium
Difficulty
Beginner
Works on
Web
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Wave?
Wave is money management software for small businesses. Its free Starter plan includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, invoicing from the mobile app and a dashboard for cash flow and customers. Online card payments are optional and charged per transaction. The Pro plan adds automatic bank transaction import, auto-merging and categorisation, automated late payment reminders, unlimited receipt capture and lower card fees. Payroll is a separate paid add-on, and prices are shown in US and Canadian dollars.
Pros: what Wave does well
- Unlimited invoices and estimates for free
- Free bookkeeping records
- Send invoices from the mobile app
Cons: where it falls short
- Automatic bank import needs the Pro plan
- Payments and payroll cost extra
Who Wave is for
Freelancers and small businesses in the US or Canada who want free invoicing.
Who can skip it
Larger companies that need full accounting software.
Wave alternatives
Not sold on Wave? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Fava
Focus: finance, budget and plain text. Shares accounting with Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Same 4.4 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb
4.4Visit
Zoho Invoice
Focus: quotes and payments. Shares invoicing and small business with Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds iOS, Android and Windows. Rated 4.6 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.6Visit
hledger
Focus: finance, plain text and budget. Shares accounting with Wave. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Same 4.4 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit
HomeBank
Focus: personal finance, budgeting and expense tracker. Shares accounting with Wave. A desktop app, not a web app. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds Windows, Linux and macOS. Same 4.4 rating.
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Linux
4.4Visit
Bitwarden
Focus: password manager, security and passkeys. Also in Organization and Personal Productivity, like Wave. Adds Windows, macOS and Linux. Rated 4.8 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFree planWeb, Windows
4.8Visit
Free alternatives to Wave
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Firefly III
Focus: personal finance, budgeting and expenses. Also in Personal Productivity and Organization, like Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Jellyfin
Focus: media server, streaming and self-hosted. Also in Personal Productivity and Organization, like Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeCross-Platform
4.7Visit
Navidrome
Focus: music, streaming and self-hosted. Also in Personal Productivity and Organization, like Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.7 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeWeb, macOS
4.7Visit
Paperless-ngx
Focus: documents, ocr and self-hosted. Also in Organization and Personal Productivity, like Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds Linux. Rated 4.7 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeWeb, Linux
4.7Visit
Vaultwarden
Focus: password manager, self-hosted and bitwarden. Also in Personal Productivity and Organization, like Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Rated 4.7 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Actual Budget
Focus: budgeting, personal finance and self-hosted. Also in Personal Productivity and Organization, like Wave. Free (Wave: Freemium). Adds Windows, macOS and Linux. Rated 4.6 (Wave: 4.4).
Web AppFreeWeb, Windows
4.6Visit
Are you the maker of Wave?Get a free Featured badge for your site, a share image and ready-to-paste posts. No sign-up.
Free Notion database
1,100+ ways people are making money online
Real online businesses, creators and projects, broken down by how they make money: apps, online stores, AI tools and more. Free on Gumroad.
Get the free databaseFree Notion database
399+ ways to make money online
Hundreds of online income methods in one place, so you can compare options and pick one to try. Free on Gumroad.
Get the free listFor research and ideas only. Results vary and nothing here is a promise of income. See our Disclaimer.
Weekly newsletter
Everything new, every Monday.
One short email every Monday with everything shipped that week: new free tools and websites, new guides, new free browser tools and what's new in my free Gumroad libraries, plus how the site is growing. Free, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
Join the newsletterYou sign up on Gumroad, which stores your email to send the newsletter. See our Privacy Policy.