Invoice Simple vs Wave (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Invoice Simple grades higher than Wave: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Invoice Simple grades higher on ease of use. Wave grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Invoice Simple
Mobile and web invoice maker with monthly invoice caps
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses
Which one is for you
Pick Invoice Simple if
- Fits if you invoice from your phone, between jobs
- Works for tradespeople who want invoices sent by text or WhatsApp
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you send more than 3 invoices a month, since Essentials stops there and Plus stops at 10
- Pricey if you want unlimited invoices, which is $21.99 a month on Premium
- Watch out: prices here are the US App Store's monthly prices, and the web prices weren't checked
- Watch out: Venmo payments are US only, and the annual prices aren't published on the pages we read
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
| 2.6GPAInvoice SimpleGood | 2.4GPAWaveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$6.99 a month in the US App Store buys 3 invoices. Unlimited invoicing is $21.99, near the category's middle plan. | 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 14-day free trial of Premium with no purchase needed. There is no free plan. | 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, receipts, online and QR payments and read receipts. It does invoicing fully, which is a smaller job than accounting: no ledger. | 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 | A4.9 from about 123,000 App Store ratings. Open it and make an invoice. | 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, iPhone and Android, with PayPal, Stripe and WhatsApp. 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 | invoices from a phone | 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: Invoice Simple and Wave. How we grade
Price against what you get
Invoice Simple starts at $6.99 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.
Invoice Simple scores higher and starts $12.01 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Invoice Simple 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
- Invoice Simple also covers templates and quotes and estimates.
- Wave also covers bookkeeping, expense tracking and payroll.
At a glance
| Invoice Simple | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6.99 per month, as listed in the US App Store | $19 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 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 | 14-day free trial with Premium features, no purchase needed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Zenvoice Inc. | Wave Financial Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | waveapps.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Invoice Simple
- Essentials allows only 3 invoices a month and Plus 10; unlimited invoicing needs Premium.
- Prices here are the monthly in-app purchase prices in the US App Store, which list several legacy tiers; the vendor's own site blocked automated reading.
- The help center says annual plans get 2 months free, but gives no annual prices.
- Venmo payments are US only.
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
Invoice Simple
- Invoices, estimates and receipts
- Create documents on a phone or in a browser, turn an estimate into an invoice in one step, and add photos, discounts and signatures.
- Online and QR payments
- Clients can pay from the invoice by card, debit, PayPal or Venmo (US only), or by scanning a QR code printed on it.
- Read receipts and reminders
- See when a sent invoice was delivered and read, and send due-date reminders from message templates.
- Saved clients and items
- Frequently used line items and client details are stored so repeat invoices need less typing.
- Business summary reports
- Premium builds monthly and yearly income reports and shows top clients, with export to an accountant.
- Phone and browser apps
- Separate Android and iOS apps and a web app, so invoices can be made on the road or at a desk.
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
Invoice Simple
Essentials$6.99
per month, App Store price; web price not checked
Up to 3 invoices or estimates a month, online payments, QR code payments and read receipts.
Plus$14.99
per month, App Store price; web price not checked
Everything in Essentials, up to 10 invoices a month, photos, signature, saved clients and items, due-date reminders.
Premium$21.99
per month, App Store price; web price not checked
Everything in Plus, unlimited invoices, client signatures, business summary reports and priority support.
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
Invoice Simple
- Annual discount
Annual plans get 2 months free
Invoice Simple's help center says subscribers to an annual plan are eligible for 2 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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Invoice Simple or Wave?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Invoice Simple is cheaper to start with: $6.99 a month, against $19 a month for Wave. Invoice Simple starts at $6.99 per month, as listed in the US App Store, and Wave starts at $19 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Invoice Simple or Wave?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Wave has a free plan. Invoice Simple does not, though it has a free trial.
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.