Found vs Wave
We give Found a 2.8 GPA and Wave a 2.4, out of 4.0. Found grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Found
Business bank account with bookkeeping and tax tools built in
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFoundGood | 2.4GPAWaveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFound Plus is $35 a month, above the dearer quarter of accounting tools at $31.10, or $315 a year, about $26 a month. It buys imports from other accounts, rules, tags and in-app tax payments, plus 1.50% interest on up to $20,000. | 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 | BThe free plan is business checking with a debit card, 20 sub-accounts, sorted spending, receipts, a P&L, tax estimates, unlimited invoices and free 1099 e-filing. One person could live on it, as long as all the business money goes through Found. | 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 | CIt sorts card spending into write-offs, keeps receipts and a P&L and balance sheet, sets tax aside, makes Schedule C forms, sends invoices and pays contractors. The gap is in the listing: it's a bank account, so the books only see other accounts on paid plans. | 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 | A4.79 from 34,650 App Store ratings, the top band. Spend on the card and the sorting happens as you go, so there's no separate bookkeeping app to feed. | 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, iPhone and Android, with money in from Venmo and PayPal and a Mastercard debit card. There's no desktop app, and syncing other bank accounts needs a paid plan. | 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 | self-employed people who want banking and books together | 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: Found and Wave. How we grade
Price against what you get
Found starts at $35 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wave starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
Found scores higher, and starts $16 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Found 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
- Found starts at $35 per month, billed monthly. Wave starts at $19 per month, billed monthly.
- Wave also covers payroll.
At a glance
| Found | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $35 per month, billed monthly | $19 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Found: business checking with a Mastercard debit card, team cards, 20 sub-accounts, expense categorizing, receipt scanning, P&L, tax estimates, unlimited invoices and 1099 e-filing. | 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 | 30-day free trial of Found Plus or Found Pro, then charged to your Found balance | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Found | Wave Financial Inc. |
| Price read from | found.com | waveapps.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Found
- US sole proprietors who want banking and books in one app
- Freelancers who want taxes set aside automatically as they are paid
- Small businesses that pay contractors and file 1099s
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
Found
- Found is a bank account, not standalone software: the bookkeeping works on money that runs through it, and other accounts can be imported only on paid plans.
- Only US-based businesses can open an account, and the owner needs a Social Security number.
- Some banking costs extra: domestic wires are $15 each ($10 on Pro) and paper checks $1 each (free on Pro).
- Found Assistant is in beta, and Found says it gives no legal or tax advice.
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
Found
- Business checking and cards
- A checking account held at Lead Bank, Member FDIC, with physical and virtual Mastercard debit cards and team cards with spending limits.
- Automatic bookkeeping
- Card spending is categorized and flagged as write-offs, receipts attach by photo, and P&L, balance sheet and expense reports are kept current.
- Taxes set aside
- Found estimates taxes in real time and moves money into a Taxes Pocket as you are paid. It generates Schedule C and 1120 or 1120-S forms.
- Invoices
- Unlimited invoices, scheduled and recurring invoices, estimates and payment requests on every plan.
- Contractor payments
- Pay contractors by ACH, text or email with no per-contractor fee, collect W-9s and generate and e-file 1099-NECs for free.
- Found Assistant
- An AI assistant, in beta, that answers questions about your income and taxes and can draft invoices.
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
Found
Found$0
Banking, automatic expense categorizing, receipts, P&L and balance sheet, tax estimates, unlimited invoices and contractor payments.
Found Plus$35
per month, billed monthly
Or $315 a year. Adds imports from up to 10 other accounts, categorizing rules, custom tags, in-app tax payments, 1.50% APY up to $20,000 and priority phone help.
Found Pro$80
per month, billed monthly
Or $720 a year. Adds 2.50% APY on all balances, 1% cash back on card purchases, free checks, cheaper wires and an account manager.
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
Found
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
Found Plus costs $315 a year instead of $35 a month, and Found Pro $720 a year instead of $80 a month.
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.
