Wave currently offers two primary accounting plans in the United States: Starter at $0 and Pro at $19 per month or $190 per year for new subscriptions. Payroll, Wave Advisors and the standalone Receipts plan are separate products or add-ons rather than being included universally in the base accounting subscription.
That distinction matters because “How much does Wave cost?” can produce several legitimate answers depending on what the business actually uses.
Starter Is $0
Wave’s current Starter plan has no subscription charge.
It includes unlimited:
- estimates;
- invoices;
- bills;
- bookkeeping records.
Starter users can also invoice from the mobile app and accept online payments using Wave’s transaction-based payment pricing.
For a low-volume freelancer doing manual bookkeeping, Starter can cover a substantial amount of work without a monthly software bill.
Pro Is $19 Monthly
Wave currently lists Pro at $19 USD per month for new monthly subscribers.
The annual price is $190, which is lower than twelve monthly payments at the current standard monthly rate.
Subscriptions renew automatically until canceled according to Wave’s current pricing disclosures.
Pro Pricing Is Per Business
The subscription applies to one Wave business profile rather than the account owner as a person.
Wave explicitly gives the example that someone managing three businesses would need three Pro subscriptions if all three business profiles require Pro.
This distinction is easy to miss.
One email address can manage multiple businesses, but Pro does not automatically upgrade all of them.
What Pro Actually Adds
Current Pro features include:
automatic bank transaction importing;
automated merging and categorization;
unlimited receipt scanning;
late-payment reminders;
additional communication automation;
broader collaborator access;
enhanced payment pricing for the first ten card transactions each month.
Pro is therefore primarily a workflow automation plan.
The accounting foundation already exists in Starter.
Online Payments Have Transaction Fees
Wave Payments is not free simply because the accounting plan is free.
Current Starter card pricing is:
Visa, Mastercard and Discover: 2.9% + $0.60.
American Express: 3.4% + $0.60.
Wave currently supports Discover processing only for U.S. customers.
Pro Changes the First Ten Card Transactions
On Pro, the first ten cumulative card transactions during each monthly subscription period currently remove the fixed $0.60 component:
Visa/Mastercard/Discover: 2.9% + $0.
Amex: 3.4% + $0.
After those first ten transactions, Starter card pricing applies again.
That means Pro does not turn Wave Payments into a flat subscription-only service.
Percentage processing fees remain.
ACH Bank Payments
Wave currently charges 1% per bank payment with a $1 minimum for ACH/EFT online payments.
This charge is the same current headline rate shown for Starter and Pro.
For large invoices, ACH can have very different economics from card processing.
A $5,000 ACH invoice at 1% produces a $50 processing fee, while a card payment would be substantially higher under the published percentage rates.
Receipts Can Be Purchased Separately
Businesses that want receipt scanning without the rest of Pro can currently subscribe to the Receipts plan.
U.S. pricing is:
$8 per month
or
$72 per year.
The receipt scanner is also included in Pro.
This creates a simple decision.
If receipt capture is the only paid automation needed, Receipts may be sufficient.
If the business also wants bank imports and broader Pro functionality, the full Pro subscription may make more sense.
Payroll Is Separate
Payroll is not included simply because the business subscribes to Pro.
For new U.S. payroll customers, Wave currently lists:
$40 monthly base fee
plus
$6 per active employee
plus
$6 per independent contractor paid.
A business with five active employees would therefore begin with the $40 base plus $30 in employee charges before considering any other account products.
Wave Advisors Is Another Separate Service
Wave Advisors offers professional bookkeeping and accounting coaching.
Current U.S. bookkeeping support begins at $149 per month when billed annually, with pricing varying according to the business. Accounting coaching currently starts at $229 as a one-time fee, with other packages available.
Recurring bookkeeping includes the Pro plan, although Wave says the Receipts feature is not included in that Advisors packaging.
Pro and Advisors Are Not the Same Thing
A Pro subscription gives the owner software automation.
Wave Advisors gives the owner access to human bookkeeping or coaching.
Someone comfortable managing books personally may need only Pro.
Someone who wants the books managed by another person is buying a different service.
This distinction is more meaningful than comparing the two prices directly.
Multiple Costs Can Stack
A business could theoretically use:
Pro;
Wave Payments;
Payroll;
Wave Advisors.
Those charges solve different problems and can exist together.
A monthly software subscription does not eliminate transaction processing costs.
Payroll does not include professional bookkeeping.
Bookkeeping does not necessarily include every receipt feature.
A proper Wave cost model needs to reflect the business’s actual stack.
Which Plan Fits a Low-Volume Freelancer?
Starter is strongest when the business:
has few transactions;
can manually enter or upload banking data;
does not need receipt OCR;
does not need broad collaborator roles;
does not mind manual bookkeeping.
Pro becomes more compelling when repetitive bookkeeping begins consuming meaningful time.
Which Plan Fits a Growing Business?
Pro becomes easier to justify when the business has:
several bank or card accounts;
high transaction volume;
an outside accountant or partner;
lots of receipts;
recurring customer billing;
more automated bookkeeping needs.
Payroll then becomes a separate decision if the business has employees or contractors.
Current Pricing Should Beat Old Reviews
Wave’s product model has changed over time.
Old articles may describe accounting features as universally free or quote older payment and payroll rates.
For a 2026 purchasing decision, the current Wave pricing page should take priority over historical reviews.