HiHello vs Wave Connect (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Wave Connect grades higher than HiHello: 3.0 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
Wave Connect grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HiHello
Digital business cards, email signatures and lead capture for teams
Wave Connect
Digital business cards with AI badge scanning on prepaid credits
Which one is for you
Pick HiHello if
- Fits if you want a free card with a few paper card scans a month
- Works for teams of 5 to 100 that want signatures pushed to Gmail or Outlook
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a physical NFC card from the same company, as HiHello sells none and you'd write your card to your own tag
- Tight if your team is under five, since Business bills five users at least, $25 a month on yearly billing
- Not for you if you need CRM sync on your own: it needs Business, and SSO, SCIM and the contact webhook need Enterprise
- Pricey if you upgrade inside the iPhone app, at $9 a month or $84 a year against $8 and $72 on the website
- Watch out: Business stops at 100 users, and the lower per-user prices from 26 and 51 users aren't published
Pick Wave Connect if
- Fits if you staff a booth and want badge scans sent to a CRM without renting the show's scanner
- Works for a team of three or more that wants cards and CRM sync on one plan
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you scan a lot: credits cost $250 for 115, a badge takes 4 and they expire after 12 months
- Tight if you want CRM sync alone or as a pair, since it starts on Teams, which bills three users at least
- Watch out: removing Wave branding and a branded QR code need Pro, at $7 a month yearly or $9 monthly
- Not for you if you need SSO, SCIM or unlimited lead-capture users without a quote, as those are Enterprise only
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAHiHelloGood | 3.0GPAWave ConnectVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CProfessional is $6 a month on yearly billing for one person, and Business $5 a user with five users at least, which is this category's middle. Bought in the iOS app, Professional is $9 a month or $84 a year, against $8 and $72 on the website. | CPro is $7 a month on yearly billing ($9 monthly in the iOS app), near this category's dearer quarter at $7.50. Teams is $5 a user, the middle, with three users at least. Scanning credits cost extra: $250 for 115. |
| Free plan and trial | BPersonal is free with no time limit: 2 cards, sharing by QR, widget, SMS, WhatsApp and wallet, a personal email signature and 5 card or badge scans a month. One person can live on that unless they scan a lot. | BThe free card comes with a personal email signature, unlimited sharing and contacts, wallet passes, a lead form and personal analytics, with no end date. The 10 AI scanning credits are a one-off taste. |
| Features | CCards, a scanner with enrichment from Professional, signatures deployed to Gmail and Outlook, lead forms, CRM sync and a company directory. The listing's gap: HiHello sells no NFC cards, so a tap means writing your card to a tag you already own. | BCards with galleries, video and booking, a scanner that reads badges, paper cards and LinkedIn QR codes offline, waterfall enrichment, signatures for Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail, team templates and native CRM sync. That covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | AHiHello rates 4.9 on the US App Store from 45,197 ratings, the top of our ease ladder. | AWave Connect rates 4.8 on the US App Store from 1,604 ratings, the top of our ease ladder. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Google Contacts, Gmail, Outlook, Zoom and Entra ID. No desktop app, so on a computer it's the browser. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with native sync to HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Zoho, Pipedrive and HighLevel, and Zapier to 5,000+ apps. No desktop app. |
| Best for | cards and email signatures on one brand | small teams scanning event badges into a CRM |
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: HiHello and Wave Connect. How we grade
Price against what you get
HiHello starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wave Connect starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Wave Connect scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other digital business cards on the chart, 1 scores higher than HiHello for less, and none scores higher than Wave Connect 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
At a glance
| HiHello | Wave Connect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed yearly (Business, five-user minimum) | $5 per user / month, billed annually (Teams, three-user minimum) |
| Free plan | Personal plan: 2 cards, sharing by QR code, widget, email, SMS and WhatsApp, Apple and Google Wallet, a personal email signature, virtual backgrounds and 5 card or badge scans a month. | a digital card, a personal email signature, unlimited sharing and contacts, Apple and Google Wallet, a lead capture form, personal analytics and 10 trial credits for AI scanning. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Professional, and of Business for teams of five or more | 7-day free trial of Pro; 14-day free trial of Teams |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | HiHello, Inc. | Wave Connect Inc. |
| Price read from | hihello.com | wavecnct.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HiHello
- Business needs at least five users ($25 a month on yearly billing) and stops at 100; larger teams move to Enterprise.
- CRM sync, Gmail and Outlook signature deployment and the admin dashboard need Business; SAML SSO, SCIM and a contact webhook need Enterprise.
- HiHello sells no NFC cards: you write your card to an NFC tag you already own.
- Professional bought in the iOS app costs $9 a month or $84 a year, against $8 and $72 on the website.
Wave Connect
- AI scanning uses credits: 4 per event badge and 1 per paper card, LinkedIn QR or lead form; 100 credits plus 15 free cost $250 and last 12 months.
- Teams needs at least 3 users, and CRM sync, templates and locked fields start there.
- Enforced SSO, SCIM provisioning and unlimited lead-capture users need Enterprise, which is quoted.
- Removing Wave Connect branding and using a branded QR code need Pro or higher.
Key features
HiHello
- Cards and sharing
- Two cards free and eight on Professional, shared by QR code, widget, email, SMS, WhatsApp, Apple or Google Wallet, offline, or from an Apple Watch.
- Universal Contact Scanner
- Scans paper cards, event badges and QR codes into contacts: 5 a month free, 20 on Professional and 50 per user on Business, pooled across the team.
- Email Signature Manager
- Everyone gets a personal signature. Business deploys template signatures to Gmail and Outlook, with legal disclaimers and banner campaigns beneath them.
- Lead capture and events
- Business adds lead capture forms with consent, event tracking and analytics, and sends leads straight to Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
- Business Contact Manager
- Unlimited contacts that update themselves, with notes and tags. On team plans, contacts stay with the company when someone leaves.
- Directory and partner cards
- Business adds a searchable company directory. Enterprise extends branded cards to affiliates, contractors and franchisees through self-enrollment.
Wave Connect
- Digital card and sharing
- Contact details, photo gallery, video and files, calendar bookings and a link in bio, shared by QR code, text, email, wallet pass, phone widget or offline.
- AI badge and card scanner
- Snap an event badge with only a name and company and Wave finds the rest; it also reads paper cards and LinkedIn QR codes, and keeps scanning offline.
- Waterfall enrichment
- Several data sources plus AI search look for each contact's email, phone and LinkedIn. Failed lookups and duplicate scans are not charged.
- CRM sync
- Teams syncs leads natively to HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Zoho, Pipedrive and HighLevel with custom field mapping, or to 5,000+ apps through Zapier.
- Email signatures
- Branded signatures for Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail; Teams admins set signatures for the whole team.
- Team admin
- Templates, bulk import from a spreadsheet, bulk edits and locked fields, admin, manager and viewer roles, and a shared lead dashboard.
Plans
HiHello
Personal$0
One user: 2 cards, wallet and messaging sharing, a personal email signature, virtual backgrounds and 5 scans a month.
Professional$6
per month, billed yearly ($8 billed monthly)
One user: 8 cards, your colors, fonts and video, branded QR codes, card analytics and 20 scans a month with contact enrichment.
Business$5
per user / month, billed yearly ($6 billed monthly)
5 to 100 users: templates, signatures pushed to Gmail and Outlook, lead forms, CRM sync, a company directory and 50 scans per user.
EnterpriseCustom
100+ users: unlimited cards, scans and enrichment, SAML SSO and SCIM, a branded subdomain, invoice billing and a dedicated account team.
Wave Connect
Free$0
A digital card and personal email signature, unlimited sharing and contacts, wallet passes and a lead form.
Pro$7
per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly in the iOS app)
Branded QR code and profile, custom colors and fonts, no Wave branding, AI lead capture with enrichment and offline mode.
Teams$5
per user / month, billed annually (3-user minimum)
Admin platform, templates and locked fields, team lead capture with qualifiers and voice notes, CRM sync and a shared credit pool.
EnterpriseCustom
Enforced SSO, SCIM, unlimited lead-capture users on an annual credit package, CRM setup and a dedicated account manager.
Wave NFC Business Card$23
one-time, per card
NFC card linked to your Wave profile. Custom printed $42, metal $53, phone tap or bracelet $23.
Ways to pay less
HiHello
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with yearly billing
HiHello says yearly billing saves 25% on Professional ($72 a year against $8 a month). Business is $5 per user a month yearly, or $6 monthly.
- Other savings
Lower Business price from 26 and 51 users
HiHello's pricing page says the Business price per user drops when a team reaches 26 users and again at 51; the lower figures are not published.
Wave Connect
- Annual discount
Save about 22% with yearly Pro
The US App Store lists Pro at $84 a year against $9 a month, and Wave's pricing page shows Pro at $7 a month billed annually.
- Other savings
Bonus credits on larger lead capture packs
Wave adds free credits to bigger packs: 5 extra with 50, 15 with 100, 35 with 200 and 70 with 400 credits.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HiHello or Wave Connect?
As of Oct 24, 2026, they start at the same price. HiHello starts at $5 per user / month, billed yearly (Business, five-user minimum), and Wave Connect starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (Teams, three-user minimum).
Which has a free plan, HiHello or Wave Connect?
As of Oct 24, 2026, both HiHello and Wave Connect 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.