SumUp Invoices vs Wave (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SumUp Invoices 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
SumUp Invoices grades higher on value for money. Wave grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SumUp Invoices
Free invoices and quotes with a low-cost paid upgrade
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses
Which one is for you
Pick SumUp Invoices if
- Fits if you take card payments with SumUp already
- Works for a UK sole trader who wants unlimited free invoices
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want bank transfers into your own bank for free: that needs Plus
- Tight if you invoice in other currencies or languages, which needs Plus
- Watch out: the Plus price is in pounds, excludes VAT and the page shows only yearly billing
- Watch out: this is the UK listing, and the US page lists no paid plan
- Not for you if you need bookkeeping, since there is no 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
How we grade them
| 2.6GPASumUp InvoicesGood | 2.4GPAWaveFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree for unlimited invoices and quotes, and Plus is £7 a month on yearly billing, which is under the category's cheapest quarter. | 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 | BUnlimited invoices and quotes, recurring invoices and reminders at no cost. The catch is that bank transfers go to a SumUp Business Account only, and there is 1 invoice language. | 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, quotes, payments, reminders, reconciliation and UK tax reporting. It does invoicing fully, 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 | CNo store rating on record, and you set up your business details and payment methods. | 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 | CWeb only, with no integrations or phone app on the listing. | 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 | a free invoicing tool if you already take cards with SumUp | 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: SumUp Invoices and Wave. How we grade
Price against what you get
SumUp Invoices starts at about $9.38 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wave starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
Wave scores higher, and starts $9.62 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 31 score higher than SumUp Invoices 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
- SumUp Invoices also covers templates and quotes and estimates.
- Wave also covers bookkeeping, expense tracking and payroll.
At a glance
| SumUp Invoices | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | £7 per month, billed annually, excluding VAT | $19 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Unlimited invoices and quotes, standard template, 1 invoice language, bank transfers into a SumUp Business Account only. | 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 Plus | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SumUp Payments Limited | Wave Financial Inc. |
| Price read from | sumup.com | waveapps.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SumUp Invoices
- The listed Plus price is in pounds, excludes VAT and assumes yearly billing; the monthly rate is not shown.
- On the free plan, bank transfers go to a SumUp Business Account only, and only 1 invoice language is offered.
- Multi-currency invoices and bank transfers to any bank account need Plus.
- This is the UK listing; the US page lists no paid plan, so a US buyer may see different terms.
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
SumUp Invoices
- Invoices and quotes
- Create unlimited invoices and quotes, convert a quote to an invoice, and issue credit notes and delivery notes.
- Several ways to get paid
- Customers can pay by online card payment, bank transfer, cash, Google Pay or Apple Pay, and invoices can be marked paid by hand.
- Recurring invoices and reminders
- Send invoices at regular intervals and set automatic email reminders for overdue payments. Both are on the free plan.
- Invoice design and languages
- Plus offers full customization of fonts, colors and layouts and invoices in 14 languages, including Dutch, German and Spanish.
- Reconciliation
- Free matches bank transfers to invoices through the SumUp Business Account; Plus does so for most banks.
- Tax reporting for the UK
- The site describes Making Tax Digital ready software that tracks income and expenses and sends updates to HMRC.
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
SumUp Invoices
Invoices Free£0
Unlimited invoices and quotes, recurring invoices, credit notes and payment reminders; standard template, 1 language.
Invoices Plus£7
per month, billed annually, excluding VAT
Adds invoice design, 14 languages, multi-currency, bank transfers to any bank 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
SumUp Invoices
- Annual discount
Save 12% with yearly billing
SumUp's pricing page shows a 12% saving when Plus is paid yearly instead of monthly.
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, SumUp Invoices or Wave?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SumUp Invoices is cheaper to start with: about $9.38 a month, against $19 a month for Wave. SumUp Invoices starts at £7 per month, billed annually, excluding VAT, and Wave starts at $19 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, SumUp Invoices or Wave?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both SumUp Invoices and Wave have a free plan.
Which platforms do SumUp Invoices and Wave run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Wave lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.