Wave Pricing 2026: Starter, Pro, Payroll & Payment Fees

Wave pricing starts at $0 with Starter and moves to $19/month or $190/year for Pro, with optional Receipts, payments, Payroll and bookkeeping services.

Starter at $0

Wave Starter costs $0 and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records.

The financial subscription cost is zero, but manual transaction entry and reconciliation can still create labor cost.

Pro at $19 monthly

Wave Pro costs $19 per month in the United States.

Its value comes from automation, unlimited receipt capture, branding, users, integrations and live support rather than simply unlocking accounting.

Pro at $190 annually

Annual Pro costs $190, equivalent to about $15.83 per month.

That saves $38 compared with twelve monthly payments.

Current introductory offer

Wave currently promotes Pro at $9.50 per month for the first three months.

Long-term budgets should still use the $19 regular monthly price.

Receipts at $8 monthly

The standalone U.S. Receipts plan costs $8 per month.

It is useful when a Starter user needs OCR receipt capture but not the full Pro feature set.

Receipts at $72 annually

The annual U.S. Receipts plan costs $72, equivalent to $6 per month.

Businesses near the Pro threshold should compare $72 annual Receipts with $190 annual Pro before subscribing.

Starter payment pricing

Starter's standard credit-card processing begins at 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction.

For businesses processing many small payments, the fixed 60-cent component materially raises the effective rate.

Pro payment discount

Pro currently advertises 2.9% + $0 for the first ten standard-card transactions each month.

The discount can offset a small part of Pro but should not be the only upgrade reason.

Payroll base fee

Wave Payroll costs $40 per month in the U.S.

Current service includes tax payments and filings in all 50 states.

Payroll employee fees

Each active employee adds $6 per month.

Five employees therefore make payroll $70 per month before Pro.

Payroll contractor fees

Each independent contractor paid through Wave Payroll also adds $6 for applicable months.

Contractor-heavy businesses should model this separately.

Five employees plus Pro

Five employees plus the $40 base create $70 payroll cost, and Pro raises the monthly subtotal to $89.

Payment processing and advisory services remain separate.

Ten employees plus Pro

Ten active employees create $100 in payroll cost, and Pro raises the monthly subtotal to $119.

At that level, compare Wave Payroll with Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, ADP RUN and Paychex.

Wave Advisors

Wave Advisors bookkeeping is shown from about $149 per month.

It should be treated as outsourced finance support, not as a small feature add-on.

Multiple business profiles

Wave paid subscriptions apply per business profile.

A three-company owner using annual Pro on all three profiles would spend $570 per year before payments or payroll.

Canada pricing

Canadian Pro costs CA$25 per month or CA$250 per year, while Receipts costs CA$11 monthly or CA$96 annually.

Do not mix Canadian and U.S. plan economics.

Cancellation

Paid plans auto-renew until cancelled, with access continuing through the current period.

Pro then downgrades to Starter.

Refunds

Direct Wave subscriptions are generally final and non-refundable.

Annual billing saves money but reduces flexibility if business requirements change.

Monthly versus annual

Twelve monthly Pro payments total $228 compared with $190 annually.

The $38 annual saving is useful but not large enough to ignore flexibility.

First-year monthly promotion

Three months at $9.50 followed by nine months at $19 totals $199.50 before tax.

That remains slightly above the $190 annual plan if promotions do not stack.

Three-year annual Pro

Three years of annual Pro cost $570 before optional services.

The ROI question is whether automation saves more labor than that amount.

Per-profile economics

Because paid subscriptions apply per business profile, multi-business owners can accumulate several Pro charges.

Consolidate the budget at the owner level rather than comparing only one company.

Payment-processing sensitivity

Payment fees can exceed the accounting subscription for card-heavy businesses.

Model actual payment volume and average ticket size.

Support economics

Pro includes live-person chat and email support, while Starter is more self-service.

Owners who need human help should treat support as part of paid-plan value.

Integration economics

Third-party integrations can require Pro and can have their own fees.

The connected software stack can cost much more than the accounting plan itself.

Geographic limitation

Wave currently supports new U.S. and Canadian businesses.

For unsupported countries, Wave should be removed from the shortlist before price comparison.

Pricing transparency

Wave publishes its main plan, receipt, payroll and payment prices clearly.

The complexity comes from optional services rather than hidden base pricing.

Pricing methodology

Toollers rechecked Wave's U.S. pricing, Receipts, Payroll and subscription documentation on October 9, 2026.

Official prices are directly confirmed, but human Toollers pricing verification remains pending, so startingPriceVerified remains false.

Continue reading about Wave

• Wave tool profile
• Wave Review: Features, Pricing, Pros and Cons
• Wave Alternatives 2026: Zoho Invoice, FreshBooks, QuickBooks & Xero

Wave pricing decision note 1

Starter is permanently free and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 2

Pro costs $19 per month or $190 per year in the United States. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 3

The current Pro promotion is $9.50 per month for the first three months. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 4

Automatic bank imports and automatic transaction matching/categorization require Pro. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 5

Unlimited digital receipt scanning is included in Pro; the standalone U.S. Receipts plan costs $8 per month or $72 per year. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 6

U.S. Wave Payroll costs $40 per month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per independent contractor paid. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 7

Wave is currently available to new businesses in the United States and Canada, and U.S. territories are not supported. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 8

Wave documents PCI-DSS Level 1 status, encrypted transmission and read-only bank connections. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 9

Wave subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled, and direct paid subscriptions are generally non-refundable. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 10

G2 currently rates Wave 4.3/5 from 327 product reviews. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.

Wave pricing decision note 11

Capterra's correct Wave Apps accounting listing is 4.4/5 from 1,731 reviews, with 4.5 ease of use and 4.0 customer service. This matters because Wave is deliberately positioned for very small businesses, so a feature that looks minor on a comparison table can materially change whether Starter, Pro, or a different accounting platform is the right operating choice.

The practical approach is to test the exact workflow with realistic monthly volume, assign a value to owner or bookkeeper time, and compare steady-state cost rather than choosing only by the headline subscription price.