Invoice Ninja vs Wave (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Invoice Ninja if

• Fits if you're a freelancer with 5 clients or fewer and want invoicing for free
• Works for people who'd like to self-host their invoicing

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you have more than 5 clients: the free plan stops there
• Skip it if you want the API, branding removed or payment reminders for free, as they're Pro
• Not for you if you need bank sync or PEPPOL e-invoicing but don't want Enterprise
• Watch out: self-hosting is under the Elastic License v2, not an open-source license
• Too light for bookkeeping: it's invoicing, expenses and time, not a ledger

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

Invoice Ninja

• The free plan stops at 5 clients; the API, branding removal and payment reminders need Pro.
• Bank sync and e-invoicing are Enterprise only, and Enterprise is priced by number of users.
• Self-hosted use is under the Elastic License v2, not an open-source license; reselling it as a service needs a separate agreement.
• Paid plans carry a 30-day money-back promise, per the pricing page.

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.

Invoice Ninja

Invoices, quotes and recurring billing

Create invoices with 11 templates, take deposits and partial payments, and set up recurring or automatic billing.

Online payments

Clients pay from a portal with gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, Square and GoCardless.

Time tracking and projects

Track billable time against projects, view them on Kanban boards and invoice the hours.

Expenses and vendors

Record expenses and vendors, and run reports on invoices, expenses and profit and loss on paid plans.

E-invoicing

Enterprise includes PEPPOL network access with 250 credits and bank account sync through Yodlee or GoCardless.

Self-hosting

The source code is on GitHub under the Elastic License v2, so you can run it on your own server using Docker.

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.

Invoice Ninja

• Free$0

  Up to 5 clients, unlimited invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and time tracking.

• Ninja Pro$14

  per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually)

  Unlimited clients, removes Invoice Ninja branding, REST API access, late-payment reminders and profit and loss reports.

• Enterprise$18

  per month for 1-2 users, billed monthly

  Everything in Pro plus bank sync, e-invoicing with PEPPOL, user permissions and up to 100 users; $300 a month at 51-100 users.

• Premium BusinessCustom

  Priority support, a developer concierge, invoice design service and data migration help; from $280 a year, sold through sales.

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.

Invoice Ninja

• Annual discount

  Two months free on annual billing

  Paying yearly costs $140 for Pro instead of $14 a month, which the pricing page presents as two months free.

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.