CloudWave Financial (H&R Block)

Wave Accounting Pricing & Costs 2026

Free core accounting monetised through payment processing and payroll. Understand the full cost of Wave Accounting including licensing, implementation, support, and total cost of ownership — and get a personalised quote in minutes.

Best for: Micro-businesses and sole traders who need books at zero software cost

Wave Accounting for your industry

Professional Services ERP→Retail ERP→Nonprofits ERP→

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Number of ERP Users

5 – 5,000 active users

Modules Required

Estimated Annual Cost

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Published Subscription Pricing

This product publishes its prices. Plans are sold per company or per licence rather than per named user, so the tier you need is usually decided by transaction volume, feature depth or a bundled user allowance rather than by headcount. That makes cost unusually predictable — but check the allowance carefully, because exceeding a plan's cap on users, invoices or orders forces a jump to the next tier rather than an incremental charge. Published list prices are also the starting point for annual-billing discounts, which are common in this segment.

Wave Accounting Pricing Breakdown

Pricing Model	Published subscription tiers
Starting Price	Free
Base Platform Fee	Free (Starter)
Typical Total TCO	$0–$230/yr
Implementation Cost	$0 – $250
Annual Support / Maintenance	Included in subscription
Implementation Timeline	Under 1 week

About Wave Accounting Pricing

Wave's Starter plan is genuinely free — unlimited invoices, unlimited users and real double-entry bookkeeping at no software cost — and the Pro plan is $19/month billed monthly or about $16/month billed annually. The business model is payment processing rather than licensing, so the software price is not the cost that matters: card and bank transaction fees apply on both tiers, and those are where a growing business actually pays. Payroll is a separate add-on from about $40/month, and assisted bookkeeping from about $149/month. Wave is the right answer for a sole trader or micro-business that needs compliant books at zero cost, and the wrong answer for anything with inventory, projects or meaningful reporting requirements — there is no stock capability at all.

What Drives Wave Accounting Pricing?

1Payment processing volume — the real cost line, since the software itself is free
2Whether you need Pro for lower card rates and support
3Payroll, a separate subscription from about $40/month plus per-employee fees
4Assisted bookkeeping, from about $149/month if you want a human involved
5How soon you will outgrow it — migration cost is the hidden expense of starting free

Wave Accounting Module Availability & Pricing Impact

Each additional module increases your Wave Accounting subscription cost. Modules rated “Strong” are core capabilities; “Basic” modules may require add-ons or third-party integrations.

Finance & Accountingbasic

HR & Payrollbasic

Business Intelligencebasic

ManufacturingNot Available

Supply ChainNot Available

SalesNot Available

Project ManagementNot Available

Inventory ManagementNot Available

ProcurementNot Available

Warehouse ManagementNot Available

EcommerceNot Available

Quality ManagementNot Available

Field ServiceNot Available

Asset ManagementNot Available

Wave Accounting Pros & Cons

Advantages

A genuinely free tier that covers invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping
No user or invoice limits on the free plan
Payroll available as a paid add-on when the business is ready

Considerations

The business model is payment-processing fees — the software is free but the transactions are not
Very limited reporting and no inventory or project accounting
Support is thin on the free tier; the Pro plan largely buys support and lower card rates

Wave Accounting Pricing FAQs

Is Wave accounting really free?

The Starter plan is genuinely free, with unlimited invoices, unlimited users and double-entry bookkeeping. Wave makes its money on payment processing fees instead, so if customers pay you through Wave you are paying a percentage of every transaction.

How much does Wave Pro cost?

Wave Pro is $19/month billed monthly, or about $16/month equivalent billed annually. It mainly buys lower card-processing rates, support and receipt scanning rather than significant extra accounting functionality.

What does Wave charge for payments?

Card and bank-transfer processing fees apply on both the free and Pro tiers, and the Pro plan reduces the card rate. For any business invoicing meaningful volumes through Wave, processing fees will exceed what a paid accounting subscription would have cost.

What are the limits of Wave?

There is no inventory, no project accounting and very limited reporting. It suits sole traders and micro-businesses. Anything with stock, multiple entities or a real finance function will outgrow it quickly, and the migration off it is the hidden cost of starting there.

Does Wave include payroll?

No — Wave Payroll is a separate subscription starting around $40/month plus a per-employee fee, and it is only available in certain countries and US states. Factor it in separately when comparing Wave against paid platforms that bundle payroll.