Bookipi vs Wave (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bookipi and Wave share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and Bookipi starts cheaper, at $7.60 a month against $19 a month.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bookipi grades higher on value for money. Wave grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bookipi
Invoice, quote and e-signature app for small businesses
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses
Which one is for you
Pick Bookipi if
- Fits if you send a handful of invoices a month from your phone
- Works for freelancers who also send quotes and proposals
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 invoices a month, and quotes and credit notes count toward it
- Not for you if you need bookkeeping, because there is no ledger
- Watch out: Starter allows only 2 proposals a month, and Professional is US$39
- Watch out: Australian users pay 10% GST on top, and Tap to Pay is only in some countries
Pick Wave if
- Fits if you're a sole trader in the US or Canada who mostly sends invoices
- Works for owners who'd pay Wave's own bookkeepers, from $149 a month, to keep the books
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if your business is outside the US or Canada
- Skip it if you bill by the hour, as there's no time tracking, projects or inventory on the listing
- Tight if you stay free, since every bank transaction is typed in by hand and card fees are 2.9% plus $0.60
- Watch out: live chat and email support need Pro or a paid add-on, and run weekdays 9 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern only
- Pricey if you add payroll, at $40 a month in the US plus $6 per employee and per contractor paid
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABookipiFair | 2.4GPAWaveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is US$7.60 a month on yearly billing, inside the category's cheapest quarter, but it only gets you unlimited invoices and 2 proposals a month. Professional jumps to US$39. | 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, at a price in the middle of the range. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan of 3 invoices and 3 e-signatures a month. That's a cap you'll hit, with quotes and credit notes counted as invoices. | 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, estimates, card payments, recurring invoices and proposals. It does invoicing fully, which is a smaller job than accounting: no ledger and no bookkeeping. | 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, and you set up your business details, templates and payment connection first. | C4.37 from 6,664 App Store ratings, 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 plus iOS and Android apps, with Gmail. No desktop app. | 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 | freelancers who send a few invoices a month | 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: Bookipi and Wave. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bookipi starts at $7.60 a month 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 Bookipi starts $11.40 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 11 score higher than Bookipi for less, and 16 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
- Bookipi also covers quotes and estimates and appointment booking.
- Wave also covers reports, bookkeeping and payroll.
At a glance
| Bookipi | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | US$7.60 per month, billed annually (US$9.99 billed monthly) | $19 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Up to 3 invoices and 3 e-signatures a month, counting quotations, credit notes and estimates as invoices. | 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 | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Bookipi | Wave Financial Inc. |
| Price read from | bookipi.com | waveapps.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bookipi
- The free plan stops at 3 invoices a month, and quotes and credit notes count toward that limit.
- Prices are in US dollars; Australian users pay 10% GST on top.
- The AI website builder and some other tools are sold as separate add-ons, not in the plans.
- Tap to Pay is available only in select countries.
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
Bookipi
- Invoices and estimates
- Create and send invoices, estimates, credit notes and receipts, and save or convert them between document types.
- Card payments and deposits
- The plan table lists card payments, deposits and Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, the last in select countries.
- Recurring invoices and reminders
- The plan table lists recurring invoices and automatic overdue reminders among the invoicing features.
- Proposals and e-signatures
- Write proposals with an AI assistant and request signatures on invoices and contracts.
- Web and mobile sync
- Documents sync in real time between the browser and the mobile app, and a Gmail add-on is available.
- Add-on tools
- Separate products cover an AI website builder, appointment scheduling, a client pipeline and timesheets and rosters.
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
Bookipi
FreeUS$0
Up to 3 invoices and 3 eSignatures a month; both counters reset every 30 days.
StarterUS$7.60
per month, billed annually (US$9.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited invoices, up to 2 proposals and 3 eSignatures a month. Billed US$91.20 a year.
ProfessionalUS$39
per month, billed annually (US$52 billed monthly)
Unlimited invoices and proposals, 3 eSignatures a month. Billed US$468 a year.
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
Bookipi
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with yearly billing
Bookipi's pricing page shows savings of up to 23% on Starter and 25% on Professional when billed annually.
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.
- Other savings
Half off Pro for the first 3 months
New Pro subscribers paying monthly on Wave's website pay $9.50 a month for the first three months, saving $28.50, then the listed $19 a month.
- Other savings
Black Friday: Wave Advisors from $134 a month
Bookkeeping plans bought from November 2 to November 30, 2026 start at $134 a month instead of $149, with up to 25% off two-year plans and $30 to $40 off coaching sessions.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bookipi or Wave?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bookipi is cheaper to start with: $7.60 a month, against $19 a month for Wave. Bookipi starts at US$7.60 per month, billed annually (US$9.99 billed monthly), and Wave starts at $19 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Bookipi or Wave?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Bookipi and Wave have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.