Wave
$0/mo est.
- Entry plan
- Free
- Users included
- Unlimited
- AU payroll
- No
- BAS/GST
- Limited
- Bank feeds
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $0/mo
Wave
Free core accounting for micro-businesses and sole traders, with no Australian payroll.
- Entry plan
- Free
- Users
- Unlimited
- Payroll
- N/A (US only)
- Bank feeds
- Yes
Best for
Micro-businesses and sole traders wanting free accounting. No AU payroll.
Pricing breakdown
Every fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
Last verified 24 May 2026.
Strengths and trade-offs
Pros
- Free core accounting
- Unlimited users
- Good invoicing and receipt capture
- No subscription required to start
Cons
- No Australian payroll (US only)
- Manual GST and BAS setup
- No public API
- Not AU-optimised
About Wave
Wave is a Canadian platform offering genuinely free core accounting, with a paid Wave Pro tier at USD $16/mo. It suits micro-businesses and sole traders who need invoicing, expense tracking, and reconciliation without a subscription. The catch for Australian users is that Wave Payroll is US-only, GST and BAS require manual setup, and there is no public API.
Wave was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
How Wave compares
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Subscription plus payroll add-on, based on the entry plan with no employees. Processing fees not included.
Reckon
$12/mo est.
- Entry plan
- $12/mo (Essentials)
- Users included
- 1
- AU payroll
- Yes ($24/mo add-on)
- BAS/GST
- Yes
- Bank feeds
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $12/mo
Zoho Books
$17/mo est.
- Entry plan
- $16.50/mo (Standard)
- Users included
- 3 (Standard)
- AU payroll
- No (add-on)
- BAS/GST
- Yes
- Bank feeds
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $17/mo
FreshBooks
$23/mo est.
- Entry plan
- USD $23/mo (Lite)
- Users included
- 1 + collaborators
- AU payroll
- No
- BAS/GST
- Limited
- Bank feeds
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $23/mo
Common questions about Wave
The same questions Australian merchants ask before signing up.
Wave does not publish a standard rate in Australia. Pricing is quoted based on your business size, industry, and card mix. Request a quote on their site, or use our free fee calculator to compare against providers that do publish rates.
Contract terms for Wave are not publicly listed. Confirm with their sales team before signing.
Wave settlement times are not publicly listed.
Wave AMEX pricing in Australia is not publicly listed. Ask their sales team whether AMEX acceptance and rates are included.
Wave does not advertise least-cost routing for Australian merchants. If you take a lot of contactless debit, compare against providers that do support it on our comparison page.
Wave is best suited to micro-businesses and sole traders wanting free accounting. no au payroll. To see how it stacks up for your specific volume and card mix, try our free fee calculator.
We may earn a commission when you click through to Wave and sign up, where a commercial arrangement is in place. This never affects ranking, the data we publish, or the comparisons we make on this page. Read our terms for the full picture.
We may earn a commission when you click through to a provider. This never affects ranking or data shown. Read our terms.
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Compare Wave
Compare Wave against every other Australian provider on price, contract terms, and features.