FreshBooks
Wave
| Feature | FreshBooks | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $19/mo | Free / from $16/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | freelancers, consultants, solopreneurs, service-businesses | freelancers, solopreneurs, micro-businesses, side-hustlers |
| Founded | 2003 | 2010 |
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Expense Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Estimates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reports | ✓ | ✗ |
| Payments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Project Profitability | ✓ | ✗ |
| Accounting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Receipt Scanning | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bank Connections | ✗ | ✓ |
| Financial Reports | ✗ | ✓ |
| Payroll Addon | ✗ | ✓ |
| Payments Addon | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ FreshBooks Pros
- Easiest invoicing tool for freelancers
- Beautiful invoice templates
- Built-in time tracking for billable hours
- Excellent mobile app for on-the-go
✗ FreshBooks Cons
- Limited to 5 clients on Lite plan
- Less powerful than QuickBooks for complex accounting
- No inventory management
✓ Wave Pros
- Core accounting and invoicing completely free
- Unlimited income and expense tracking
- Receipt scanning with OCR included
- Simple enough for non-accountants
✗ Wave Cons
- Payroll and payments are paid add-ons
- No inventory or project tracking
- Limited integrations compared to competitors
The Verdict
FreshBooks is built for freelancers and consultants, with a focus on invoicing and expense-tracking. Wave targets freelancers and solopreneurs and leads with accounting and invoicing.
Pricing is close: Wave starts at $16/mo versus $19/mo for FreshBooks — not a deciding factor on its own.
Wave has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. FreshBooks requires a paid subscription from day one.
Both tools are a solid fit for freelancers, solopreneurs — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.