Heard vs Wave
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Quick verdict: Solo therapists and wellness practitioners should pick Heard for done-for-you taxes; freelancers wanting a free start should choose Wave.
Best for: Solo therapists (LLC or sole prop) who want bookkeeping and taxes off their plate, S corp owners and group practices that need payroll bundled in
Read the full Heard reviewBest for: Freelancers who want to pay themselves and any staff with confidence, Solopreneurs who want tidy books going into tax time
Read the full Wave reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Heard vs Wave: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Heard if
- You're a therapist who wants bookkeeping and taxes fully handled
- You want same-day answers from specialists who know your practice
Choose Wave if
- You want to start free and upgrade only when needed
- You need invoicing, payments, and books in one app
- You'd rather do your own books and cancel anytime
Heard vs Wave: pros and cons
Heard
Heard pairs therapists with bookkeepers and tax pros who work only with private practices, bundling monthly bookkeeping, quarterly estimates, and full tax filing in one dashboard. Support is human and responsive, though annual plans are billed upfront and non-refundable. Overall, it's a strong fit for solo US practices that want taxes handled, provided you're comfortable committing a year.
Pros
- Specialist tax knowledge — Heard's team files returns only for mental health and wellness private practices, so therapy-specific deductions are tracked automatically instead of you hunting for them.
- Documented savings — providers using Heard save an average of 60 hours a year and $5,000 in taxes, per company figures.
- True all-in-one — monthly done-for-you bookkeeping, quarterly estimates, federal and state filing, banking, payroll, and S corp support run under a single login with plain-language reports.
Cons
- Narrow eligibility — only US-based, single-owner health and wellness practices (sole props, single-member LLCs, S corps) are supported — no C corps, multi-owner practices, or non-US businesses.
- Annual plans are billed upfront and non-refundable; Premium members can't downgrade, and Essential downgrades are only allowed if you haven't filed taxes with Heard yet.
- Extra costs stack up — a one-time catch-up bookkeeping fee of $99 per month in business this year applies at signup, Lite's annual tax filing is a $750 add-on, payroll runs $39/mo plus $6 per person via Gusto, and government and license filing fees are excluded.
Wave
Wave bundles accounting, invoicing, and payments in one place, backed by a genuinely free Starter plan and clearly published pricing. Card fees on every payment, Plaid-dependent bank imports, and weekday-only support are the main trade-offs. Overall, it's a solid, recommendable pick for freelancers and solopreneurs who want tidy books without a big monthly bill.
Pros
- The Starter plan is free indefinitely, not a time-limited trial, and still includes unlimited invoices, estimates, bills, and bookkeeping records
- Pro automates the tedious parts of bookkeeping — bank transactions are imported, merged, and categorized via Plaid, and receipts are captured digitally without limits
- Wave Advisors puts a dedicated bookkeeper on your account who prepares monthly financial statements and handles onboarding from software like FreshBooks
Cons
- Every card payment carries a processing fee—2.9% + $0.60 on Starter (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex)—which adds up for businesses with high card volume
- Bank auto-import runs through Plaid, and not every financial institution is supported, so a working connection isn't guaranteed
- The Pro subscription fee is per business, not per owner, so running a second business means paying for a second subscription
Heard and Wave in detail
Heard
Heard is a financial platform built for therapists and wellness practitioners in private practice. It combines bookkeeping, tax filing, business banking, payroll, and S corp support in one dashboard. A dedicated team reviews your books monthly, and experts answer questions with no per-question fees. It serves solo practices, LLCs, sole proprietors, S corps, and group practices—more than 5,000 therapists use it.
Standout features
- Monthly bookkeeping, done for you
- Taxes without the overwhelm
- S corp and payroll, made simple
- Real humans who know therapists
- One dashboard, plain-language reports
Use cases
- New practice, clean books from day one
- Tax season without the dread
- Group practice payroll, handled
Wave
Wave is all-in-one small business software that combines accounting, invoicing, payments, and payroll in a single system. It's built for people who didn't train as accountants—freelancers, solopreneurs, contractors, and consultants. You can manage your books, send professional invoices, accept payments, and check reports from a desktop or mobile app. More than 350,000 small businesses use Wave, and it holds a 4.5-star Google rating.
Standout features
- Invoicing and Estimates Without Limits
- Automated Bank Transaction Import (Pro)
- Built-In Payment Processing
- Receipt Capture and Expense Tracking (Pro)
- Automated Late Payment Reminders (Pro)
Use cases
- Freelancers: pay yourself with confidence
- Contractors: invoice and estimate in minutes
- Consultants: put repeat billing on autopilot
- Busy owners: hand off the books
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Heard | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $129/mo Lite | $19/mo Pro Plan |
| Free plan | No | Yes 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction; 3.4% + $0.60 per Amex transaction |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | Up to 17% |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | $129/mo Lite plan, billed annually | FreeCheaper Starter Plan plan, billed annually |
| Cost for 5 users | $129/mo Lite plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) | $15.83/mo Pro Plan plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | $129/mo Lite plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) | $15.83/mo Pro Plan plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | $129/mo Lite plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) | $15.83/mo Pro Plan plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 3 | 3 |
| Prices checked | Checked Oct 13, 2026 | Checked Oct 12, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 1 user (billed annually), Wave costs $0/mo vs Heard at $129/mo.
- Only Wave has a free plan.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.