# Wave

Wave is free accounting software for freelancers and micro-businesses, rated 4.4/5 on G2 (~323 reviews) and 4.4/5 on Capterra (~1,700 reviews). Owned by H&R Block since 2019.

**Category:** Free cloud accounting / invoicing for freelancers and micro-businesses  
**Vendor:** Wave Financial Inc. (a subsidiary of H&R Block)  
**Founded:** 2010  
**HQ:** Toronto, Ontario, Canada  
**Website:** https://www.waveapps.com  


## About

Wave is free cloud accounting software built for freelancers, consultants, and businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Founded in 2010 in Toronto by Kirk Simpson and James Lochrie, Wave was designed around the idea that solo business owners and micro-teams should not have to pay a monthly subscription to manage basic accounting and invoicing. The accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features remain free, with Wave monetizing through optional paid add-ons: payroll processing (starting at $20/mo plus per-employee fees) and payment processing (2.9% plus 30 cents per card transaction). H&R Block acquired Wave in 2019 for approximately $405 million, integrating it into H&R Block's small business financial services portfolio. Wave serves over 4 million small business owners globally and processes several billion dollars in payments annually through its payments add-on.

## Ratings

| Source | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.4/5 | 323 |
| Capterra | 4.4/5 | 1,700 |
| Gartner Peer Insights | 4.2/5 | 18 |
| TrustRadius | 7.8/10 | 85 |

## Funding

~$87M across 5 rounds before H&R Block acquisition in 2019 for ~$405M

| Round | Amount | Date | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | $1.8M | 2011 | Mosaic Venture Partners |
| Series A | $6M | 2012 | OMERS Ventures |
| Series B | $20M | 2014 | Social Capital |
| Series C | $35M | 2016 | National Bank of Canada |
| Series D | $24M (est.) | 2018 | Undisclosed |
| Acquisition | ~$405M | Jun 2019 | H&R Block |

## Viability

Low-to-moderate risk. H&R Block is a large publicly traded company (NYSE: HRB) with $3.5 billion in annual revenue and no signs of financial distress. Wave's risk is not its parent's solvency but its parent's strategic priorities. H&R Block acquired Wave to cross-sell tax preparation and payroll to small business owners; if Wave does not convert users to paid H&R Block services at expected rates, it could face reduced investment or a strategic pivot. The core accounting and invoicing product has remained free since the acquisition, which is the main signal that H&R Block still values Wave as a top-of-funnel acquisition channel. For freelancers and micro-businesses, the platform is stable enough to build on.

## Pricing

Wave's accounting and invoicing are free without a catch. The revenue model runs on payroll ($20/mo base plus $6/employee for full-service states) and payment processing (2.9% plus 30 cents per card, 1% for bank payments with a $1 minimum). For a freelancer who invoices and collects via bank transfer, Wave can genuinely cost $0/mo. The 2.9% card processing fee is market-standard and hard to avoid if clients insist on card. Payroll is priced competitively versus Gusto at the very small end. The trade-off is support quality: a subscription tier buys you faster human help, which Wave does not offer.

| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free (Accounting + Invoicing) | $0/mo | Freelancers and micro-businesses needing unlimited invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reports at zero cost |
| Payroll (self-serve states) | $20/mo + $6/employee/mo | US businesses in self-service payroll states that handle their own tax filings |
| Payroll (full-service states) | $35/mo + $6/employee/mo | US businesses in full-service states where Wave files and remits payroll taxes automatically |
| Payments (card processing) | 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction | Businesses that want to accept credit and debit card payments directly from Wave invoices |

## What reviewers say

_~323 G2 reviews at 4.4/5 and ~1,700 Capterra reviews at 4.4/5, plus TrustRadius_

**Praised:**
- The genuinely free accounting and invoicing with no client or invoice caps is the dominant praise: reviewers repeatedly contrast Wave against QuickBooks and FreshBooks, both of which require subscriptions
- Clean, simple interface that non-accountants navigate comfortably; multiple reviewers mention getting set up in under an hour without reading any documentation
- Invoicing is polished for a free product: customizable templates, automatic payment reminders, and recurring invoice support all ship in the free tier

**Complaints:**
- Customer support is the most consistent criticism: the free tier gets limited support access (mainly self-serve and chat), and users dealing with a bank sync failure or a payment hold can wait days for meaningful help
- Bank feed connections break periodically, especially after US bank security updates, and fixing them often requires re-authenticating or waiting for Wave to push a connector update
- Payroll is available only in the US and Canada, a hard stop for any business paying contractors or employees in other countries

## Compliance

- **SOC 2:** Yes (SOC 2 Type II)
- **GDPR:** Yes
- **HIPAA:** No
- **SSO:** No

## Integrations

- Stripe
- PayPal
- Etsy
- Shoeboxed
- Zapier
- Google Workspace
- Gusto
- Shopify
- HubSpot
- Slack

## FAQs

### Is Wave actually free?

Yes. Accounting, invoicing (unlimited), expense tracking, and financial reports are all free with no invoice or client cap. Wave earns money through optional payroll ($20-$35/mo plus per-employee fees) and payment processing (2.9% + 30 cents per card transaction). A solo freelancer who invoices clients and gets paid via bank transfer can use Wave indefinitely at $0/mo.

### Who owns Wave?

Wave is a subsidiary of H&R Block, the publicly traded US tax preparation company (NYSE: HRB). H&R Block acquired Wave in June 2019 for approximately $405 million. Wave operates as a standalone brand with its own product team, not as an H&R Block white-label.

### How does Wave compare to QuickBooks?

Wave is simpler and free; QuickBooks Online is more powerful and paid. Wave suits freelancers and very small service businesses that need invoicing, basic accounting, and simple financial statements. QuickBooks Online is better suited to businesses that need inventory, complex payroll, job costing, multi-user access with permission controls, or deep integration with third-party apps. The review tradeoff is consistent: Wave wins on price and simplicity, QuickBooks on depth and support.

### Does Wave support payroll?

Yes, for US and Canada-based employees and contractors. In the US, full-service payroll (Wave files and remits your payroll taxes) is available in most states at $35/mo plus $6/employee/mo. Self-service payroll (you handle tax filings) is $20/mo plus $6/employee/mo. Canadian payroll is a separate product. International payroll is not supported.

### Is Wave secure?

Wave maintains SOC 2 Type II certification and uses bank-level 256-bit encryption for data in transit and at rest. It is GDPR-compliant. There is no HIPAA compliance for Wave, so healthcare practices that handle patient financial data need to verify their obligations before choosing it. SSO is not offered. Bank connections use Plaid, which is a standard and regulated data aggregation service.


## Sources

- [G2: Wave Accounting reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/wave-accounting/reviews): rating 4.4/5, ~323 reviews
- [Capterra: Wave](https://www.capterra.com/p/51559/Wave/): rating 4.4/5, ~1,700 reviews, sub-scores and demographics
- [TrustRadius: Wave Accounting](https://www.trustradius.com/products/wave-accounting/reviews): score 7.8/10, ~85 reviews
- [Wave pricing page](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing): accounting free, payroll $20-$35/mo + $6/employee, payments 2.9% + 30¢
- [Crunchbase: Wave Accounting](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wave-accounting): funding history, acquisition by H&R Block 2019 for ~$405M
- [Wikipedia: Wave (company)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_(company)): founding, founders, H&R Block acquisition, products
- [LinkedIn: Wave company page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/wave-hq/about/): employee count, HQ Toronto, industry
- [H&R Block press release: Wave acquisition](https://newsroom.hrblock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hr-block-acquires-wave-financial): acquisition confirmed June 2019, ~$405M