Linq vs Wave Connect (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Wave Connect grades higher than Linq: 3.0 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
Wave Connect grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Linq
NFC business cards and a pocket CRM with a second phone line
Wave Connect
Digital business cards with AI badge scanning on prepaid credits
Which one is for you
Pick Linq if
- Fits if you want a separate work number with call notes in the same app as your card
- Works for teams buying many cards or badges at once, with 15% to 60% off bulk orders
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you just want a card, because every Linq product needs Linq One at $29 a user a month to activate
- Tight if you're staying free: the app shows only your 5 most recent contacts and can't switch on a card
- Not for you if you want a native CRM link, as Linq connects through Zapier or webhooks only
- Watch out: Linq's main site now sells an iMessage API and says it's no longer a digital business card company
- Watch out: the App Store still sells older Linq Pro plans the help pages no longer describe, and the trial length isn't stated
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
| 2.0GPALinqFair | 3.0GPAWave ConnectVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DLinq One is $29 a user a month, or $249 a year (about $20.75 a month), in this category's dearest tenth, where the middle is $5. A card bought on top, $14.99 to $59.99, won't work without it. | 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 | CThe app is free, but a free account shows only your 5 most recent contacts and can't activate a Linq card or any other NFC product. You hit that cap on day one. | 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 | CContact pages, NFC cards and badges, lead forms, a card scanner, enrichment, a second phone number with call transcription and AI summaries, and a team dashboard. The listing's gap: no native CRM, only Zapier or webhooks. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. Before a card works you buy it, subscribe to Linq One and activate it in the app, and the trial length isn't stated. | 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 Zapier, webhooks, Calendly, Acuity Scheduling and Apple Wallet. No desktop app and no native CRM integration. | 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 | an NFC card with a second work phone line | 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: Linq and Wave Connect. How we grade
Price against what you get
Linq starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.3 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 and starts $24 a month lower. Of the other digital business cards on the chart, 6 score higher than Linq 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
- Linq also covers business phone line.
At a glance
| Linq | Wave Connect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per user / month (Linq One) | $5 per user / month, billed annually (Teams, three-user minimum) |
| Free plan | The app is free and Linq calls Linq One optional, but a free account shows only the 5 most recent contacts and cannot activate a Linq card or other NFC product. | 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 | Free trial on Linq One's monthly plan in the iOS app; the length is not stated | 7-day free trial of Pro; 14-day free trial of Teams |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Linq, LLC | Wave Connect Inc. |
| Price read from | linqapp.com | wavecnct.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Linq
- Every Linq card or NFC product needs an active Linq One subscription ($29 per user a month) to work; buying the product does not include account access.
- Linq's main site now sells an iMessage API and says it is no longer a digital business card company, though the card store and apps are still live.
- CRMs connect through Zapier or webhooks; Linq's help says the app has no native one-click CRM integrations.
- The US App Store still lists older Linq Pro ($4.99 a month or $49.99 a year) and Pro Plus purchases that Linq's help pages no longer describe.
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
Linq
- Linq pages
- A contact page with links, photos, video, Calendly embeds and a lead form. Linq One allows more than one page, with two pages per seat.
- NFC and QR products
- Cards, mini cards, badges and hubs open your page with a tap or scan; Hyper Linq products show an iPhone App Clip preview that Linq One can customize.
- Contact capture and follow-up
- People who tap your card can send their details back. Linq One adds a paper card scanner, contact enrichment, reminders, follow-up templates and message snippets.
- Linq Phone
- Linq One includes a second phone number with call forwarding, call recording and transcription, AI call summaries, text suggestions and auto-replies.
- Team admin dashboard
- Admins add team members, activate and reassign products, manage phone numbers, bulk-edit pages and publish a team directory.
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
Linq
Free$0
A Linq page in the app that shows only your 5 most recent contacts. Cards and other NFC products cannot be activated.
Linq One$29
per user / month, billed monthly ($249 per user billed yearly)
2 pages per seat, lead forms, card scanner, enrichment, a second number with call transcription and AI summaries, CRM links and admin tools.
Linq Card$14.99
one-time, per card
NFC and QR card that opens your Linq page; needs Linq One to activate. Custom printed $34.99, metal $39.99, engraved metal $59.99.
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
Linq
- Annual discount
Save 29% with yearly Linq One
Linq One is $29 per user a month, or $249 per user a year, which Linq's page says saves 29%.
- Other savings
15% to 60% off products ordered in bulk
Orders of 10 to 24 products get 15% off, rising by tiers to 30% at 100, 50% at 1,000 and 60% at 10,000 or more, applied automatically at checkout.
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, Linq or Wave Connect?
As of Oct 24, 2026, Wave Connect is cheaper to start with: $5 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Linq. Linq starts at $29 per user / month (Linq One), and Wave Connect starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (Teams, three-user minimum).
Which has a free plan, Linq or Wave Connect?
As of Oct 24, 2026, both Linq 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.