Akaunting vs Wave
We give Akaunting a 2.2 GPA and Wave a 2.4, out of 4.0. Wave grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Akaunting
Open-source accounting you can host yourself or use in the cloud
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAkauntingFair | 2.4GPAWaveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe cheap prices leave out the main bits. Self-hosting is free or $72 a year and Standard Cloud is $8 a month, but double-entry and bank feeds start on Premium Cloud at $24 a month yearly, about this category's middle. | CPro is $19 a month, or $190 a year, between the cheaper quarter of accounting tools at $15 and the middle at $23. It buys bank feeds, receipt capture, late reminders and lower card fees. Fair, not a steal. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe open-source edition is free, but you run it on your own server, and it's 1 company, 1 user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices, with no double-entry reports or bank feeds. Cloud plans have a trial of unstated length. | BStarter is free with unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records, plus a dashboard and reports. One person could live on that. The catch is typing in bank transactions by hand, because bank feeds need Pro. |
| Features | CInvoices, bills, sales tax, currencies and reports in the core, with double-entry, bank feeds, payroll, inventory and projects as apps. The listing's own notes say the free and cheapest plans go without the ledger and bank feeds. | CInvoices, online payments, bookkeeping, bank feeds, receipt scanning and payroll as an add-on. The basics are there, but the listing shows no time tracking, projects or inventory, and Wave serves only US and Canadian businesses. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You either sign up for the cloud version or set up your own server, then choose which apps to add before the books are complete. That's a learning curve. | C4.37 from 6,664 App Store ratings, which is decent but below most accounting apps here. Live chat and email support come only with Pro or a paid add-on, on weekdays. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no phone or desktop app. What lifts it is the connections: Shopify, Stripe and Google, plus bank feeds in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with connections to Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Google Sheets, Capsule CRM and Make. Most third-party integrations need Pro, and there's no desktop app. |
| Best for | open-source books you can host yourself | free invoicing and books in the US or Canada |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Akaunting and Wave. How we grade
Price against what you get
Akaunting starts at $6 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wave starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Akaunting starts $13 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Akaunting for less, and 5 score higher than Wave for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Akaunting starts at $72 per year, self-hosted. Wave starts at $19 per month, billed monthly.
- Only Wave lists iOS and Android apps.
- Akaunting is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Wave also covers payroll.
At a glance
| Akaunting | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $72 per year, self-hosted | $19 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Standard On-Premise: the free, open-source edition you host yourself, for 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant and 1,000 invoices, with forum support. Apps cost extra. | Starter plan: unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, a dashboard and reports, and invoicing in the mobile app. Bank transactions are entered by hand. |
| Free trial | Free trial of each cloud plan; the length is not stated | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Akaunting | Wave Financial Inc. |
| Price read from | akaunting.com | waveapps.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Akaunting
- Businesses that want to own and host their accounting data
- Accountants managing books for many small companies
- Teams outside the US, with translations in 50+ languages
Wave
- Sole proprietors in the US or Canada who mainly need to send invoices
- New businesses that want free bookkeeping before paying for bank feeds
- Owners who would rather hand the books to a bookkeeper
Worth knowing
Akaunting
- The free self-hosted edition and Standard Cloud lack double-entry reports and bank feeds; those come from Premium Cloud or as paid apps.
- Self-hosted plans include no apps at all; Elite and Ultimate On-Premise cost $168 and $684 a year before any apps.
- Payroll, inventory, projects and estimates need Elite Cloud or separate app purchases on lower plans.
- The free self-hosted edition is supported only through the community forum; ticket support comes with the paid plans.
Wave
- Wave describes itself as serving businesses in the US and Canada, and its pricing page shows prices only in US and Canadian dollars.
- Payroll costs $40 a month in the US plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid (Canada: $25 CAD base).
- Bank feeds, automatic reminders and most third-party integrations need Pro; Starter has no bank import.
- Live chat and email support come only with Pro or a paid add-on, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern.
Key features
Akaunting
- Invoices, bills and payments
- Unlimited customers, vendors and products, recurring payment reminders, sales tax calculation and multiple currencies on every plan.
- Double-entry accounting
- Chart of accounts, general ledger, balance sheet, trial balance and manual journals come with the Double-Entry app, included from Premium Cloud.
- Bank feeds
- Connect bank accounts in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe to import transactions; included from Premium Cloud.
- App store
- 50+ apps add payroll with payslips, inventory, projects, CRM, expense claims and more. Self-hosted plans include no apps, so each is bought.
- Multiple companies
- Run the books of several businesses from one account: 10 on Premium, 30 on Elite and unlimited on Ultimate.
- Self-hosting
- Install it on your own server with the source code available, and Akaunting says it collects none of your financial data.
Wave
- Invoices and estimates
- Unlimited invoices and estimates on the free plan. Pro removes Wave branding, adds reusable message templates and sends automatic late payment reminders.
- Online payments
- Customers pay invoices by card or bank payment once online payments are approved; deposits can be collected through estimates.
- Bookkeeping and bank feeds
- Unlimited bookkeeping records on every plan. Pro imports bank transactions through Plaid, then merges and categorizes them.
- Receipt capture
- Receipts uploaded from the mobile app, desktop or email become records by OCR. Included in Pro, or $8 a month on Starter.
- Wave Payroll
- Pays employees and contractors, with tax filing in all 50 US states and CRA remittances in Canada. A separate add-on.
- Wave Advisors
- Wave's in-house bookkeepers can keep the books for you or coach you to do them yourself, from $149 a month.
Plans
Akaunting
Standard On-Premise$0
Free and open source, hosted on your own server. 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices and forum support.
Premium On-Premise$72
per year, self-hosted
Hosted on your own server. 10 companies, 10 users, 10,000 invoices and ticket support. Apps are bought separately. $756 as a one-time lifetime license.
Standard Cloud$8
per month, billed yearly
$12 billed monthly. Hosted by Akaunting for 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant and 1,000 invoices, with 4 apps included.
Premium Cloud$24
per month, billed yearly
$36 billed monthly. 10 companies, 10 users and 10,000 invoices, adding double-entry, bank feeds, expense claims, roles and a client portal.
Elite Cloud$56
per month, billed yearly
$84 billed monthly. 30 companies, 30 users and 30,000 invoices, adding estimates, payroll, projects, inventory, CRM, receipt scanning, Shopify and Stripe.
Ultimate Cloud$145
per month, billed yearly
$218 billed monthly. Unlimited companies, users and invoices, and all 50+ apps, including budgeting, purchase orders, point of sale and 1099 tools.
Wave
Starter$0
Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and records. Card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 each, and bank transactions are not imported automatically.
Pro$19
per month, billed monthly
Bank feeds with auto-categorizing, unlimited receipt capture, late payment reminders, more users and card fees of 2.9% with no fixed fee on the first 10 a month.
Wave Advisors$149
per month and up
Pro features plus a dedicated bookkeeper who keeps the books and prepares monthly financial statements. Mobile receipts are not included.
Ways to pay less
Akaunting
- Annual discount
4 months free with yearly cloud billing
Yearly billing brings Standard Cloud from $12 to $8 a month, Premium from $36 to $24, Elite from $84 to $56 and Ultimate from $218 to $145.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime licenses for the self-hosted plans
Pay once instead of yearly: $756 for Premium On-Premise, $1,764 for Elite and $7,224 for Ultimate.
Wave
- Annual discount
Save $38 with annual Pro billing
Pro costs $190 a year when billed annually, against $228 for twelve monthly payments of $19.
