Freshbooks vs Wave

Freshbooks requires a paid subscription starting at $10.50/month (promotional). Pricing scales mainly based on the number of billable clients you serve. You must buy a plan to use Freshbooks, but a 30-day trial is offered. Wave’s STARTER Plan is completely free forever for basic bookkeeping and invoicing. Advanced features like bank automation require upgrading to the $19/month PRO Plan. Wave focuses on saving solopreneurs initial budget money. The key difference is the free tier offered by Wave. Freshbooks provides guaranteed reliability and features in a paid subscription structure. If you only need basic invoicing and zero monthly fees, Wave is unbeatable on cost.

Freshbooks support is highly rated at 4.8/5.0 across over 120,000 reviews. They employ 100+ specialists and promise never to transfer your important call. Support is consistently described as fast and very knowledgeable. Wave support is heavily criticized in external reviews due to non-existent help. Users report being restricted to unresponsive chatbots or email tickets during crises. This lack of contact is a severe pain point for Wave users. Freshbooks clearly provides excellent support as a core paid feature. Wave essentially offers no human support for complex payment issues. If quick access to knowledgeable support is essential for your business, choose Freshbooks without hesitation.

Freshbooks offers trusted credit card and ACH payment processing for quick cash flow. Users confidently use Freshbooks processing because reliability is high. They offer lower transaction fees on their Select plan. Wave users repeatedly report catastrophic issues after accepting payments. Funds are held for 65+ days, or accounts are shut down abruptly. This extreme risk makes Wave dangerous for core revenue streams. Freshbooks prioritizes cash flow security and user trust above all else. Wave’s low trust rating is a major red flag for high-volume processors. Any business depending on receiving immediate payments reliably must select Freshbooks over Wave.

Freshbooks bases tiers on billable clients, limiting Lite to 5 and Plus to 50 clients. This can force scaling businesses to upgrade sooner than expected. Invoices are professional, visually appealing, and customizable. Wave lets you create unlimited estimates, invoices, and bookkeeping records for free. Wave does not impose client volume limits on basic functions. You only pay transaction fees when you use payment processing. Freshbooks restricts client numbers but offers powerful client management features like retainers. Wave offers pure volume at zero cost for invoicing. If you service hundreds of low-value clients, Wave saves you significant subscription fees over Freshbooks.

Freshbooks offers mobile receipt scanning and real-time bank expense tracking. Higher tiers allow detailed line-item scanning, supporting complex bookkeeping needs. Bank importing is available on all plans. Wave requires the PRO Plan ($19/mo) or a separate add-on ($11/mo) for receipt capture. Auto-importing bank transactions is also locked into the PRO Plan only. The free plan requires manual entry. Freshbooks bundles essential digital tracking earlier in its feature sets. Wave uses its free plan to upsell these crucial automation features. Freshbooks is better if you rely heavily on automated bank feeds and receipt management to save time.

Freshbooks offers robust double-entry accounting and strong financial reports. The Premium plan unlocks vital project profitability checking to optimize client work. It supports scaling to employees and contractors well. Wave provides clear financial reporting essential for streamlined tax preparation. Wave’s structure focuses on making basic bookkeeping clear and easy for solopreneurs. It does not advertise project-level analytics. Freshbooks’ profitability tools are critical for scaling service businesses. Wave’s reporting is aimed more at yearly filing compliance. If you manage many projects and need detailed financial strategy, Freshbooks provides superior analytics.

Freshbooks offers payroll integration as an add-on service. This costs $40/month plus an additional $6/month per employee. It is not built seamlessly into the core accounting tool. Wave advertises ‘painless payroll management’ as both an internal feature and an advisory service. Wave supports managing both employees and contractors reliably. Wave seems to have a more integrated approach to payroll compared to the Freshbooks add-on system. If integrating payroll smoothly and affordably is your main goal, Wave is the better starting point.

Freshbooks allows secure, dedicated access for your accountant on Plus and Premium plans. This feature simplifies report sharing and tax preparation significantly. It ensures your CPA has the full view. Wave also allows access for external accountants via the PRO Plan features. They also offer full hands-on bookkeeping services through Wave Advisors. Both systems are accountant-friendly and support secure collaboration for end-of-year tasks. Collaboration and tax prep are simple regardless of if you choose Freshbooks or Wave.