Skip to main content
FR
Talk to Sales: 1-888-829-8589Schedule a call

Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM ET

Hi there!
Need help choosing a plan? Schedule a call with our QuickBooks sales team.
Contact sales

How can we help?

Talk to a sales expert

Schedule a call

Get product support

Visit support page

QuickBooks vs Wave: which is best for your business in 2026

Compare the features, pricing plans, and add-ons available with both QuickBooks and Wave to find the best accounting solution for your business.

A black and white image of a computer mouse.
Image Alt Text

7,500+ Capterra reviews¹

Image Alt Text

7 million customers globally²

Image Alt Text

Award-winning
support³

QuickBooks vs Wave
Comparison overview
QuickBooks Pricing
Wave plans
How QuickBooks works
Frequently asked questions

QuickBooks vs Wave

 
Plan overview
Plans & pricingPer company file/EIN EasyStart: $7/mo, Essentials: $32.50/mo,
Plus: $19/mo, Advanced: $38/mo
Save a minimum of 50% for 3 months*		 Starter: $0, Pro: $20/mo
Multiple usersTeam and accountant collaboration EasyStart: 1, Essentials: 3,
Plus: 5, Advanced: 25		 Starter:1, Pro: No limit
Customer supportPhone support, live chat, help articles, and video tutorials No direct phone number or live chat support
Accounting and reporting
General accountingJournal entries and chart of accounts customization
Bank reconcilingBank feed imports, categorizations, and transaction matching Auto bank feeds is available in Pro plan
Accounts receivableInvoice tracking, notifications, and professional invoice creation Recurring invoices is available in Pro plan Starter plan
Accounts payableBills viewed by due date, payment automation, and multiple vendor payments Recurring bills not available
Financial reportingCash flow visibility, forecasting, budgeting, and reporting Budgets available in Plus and Advanced, forecasting available in Advanced No scenario planning, budgets or custom fields
Industry specific
Inventory managementInventory and costs of goods tracking Available in Plus and Advanced plans
Project profitabilityIncome and expense tracking on individual projects Available in Plus and Advanced plans
E-commerce app integrationShopify, eBay, and Amazon app integration
Ecosystem add-ons (extra cost)
Payroll and timePayroll direct deposit, payroll automation, and time tracking No online time tracking, limited states for e-filing
Accept paymentsBank transfers, credit card, and Apple Pay payments No card reader option

*Discount offer. See offer terms below.

Pricing reflects total monthly costs as of July 3, 2025. Total cost per year is calculated by adding all the features that require additional fees.

Pricing may vary subject to discounted introductory rates. Pricing and feature list accurate as per Wave Canada’s website on July 3, 2025.

A computer keyboard with a person holding a clock.

QuickBooks vs Wave comparison overview 2026

QuickBooks and Wave are both popular accounting software options for small businesses. Wave is a great fit for freelancers and small businesses that need simple ways to stay on top of invoicing and bookkeeping.

QuickBooks on the other hand, is built for sole proprietors and small to medium-sized businesses and has more advanced features designed to grow with your business. QuickBooks helps you manage everything from time tracking and job costing to inventory and in-depth reporting. It allows businesses to add services like payroll and payments. QuickBooks is ideal for businesses that need a more comprehensive solution to manage operations, scale efficiently, and gain deeper financial insight.

Find the QuickBooks plan that’s right for you

  • checkmarkFree, unlimited tech help
  • checkmarkNo obligation, cancel anytime

EasyStart

Build your financial foundation

Was$30

$3/mo

Save 90% for 6 months*

1 user

Plus access for your accountant

Intuit Intelligence

  • Categorizes your transactions
  • Flags potential tax issueswith Sales Tax AI
  • AI chat for instant insightsBetaLimited queries per month

Includes:

  • Run general business reports
See all features

Best value

Plus

Boost efficiency and profitability

Was$110

$11/mo

Save 90% for 6 months*

Up to 5 users

Plus access for your accountant

Intuit Intelligence

  • Finds and fixes errorswith Accounting AI
  • Sources leads and follows upwith Customer AI
  • Creates invoices in bulk, automaticallyBeta

Everything in EasyStart, and:

  • Run enhanced business reports
  • Plan budgets
  • Track inventory
  • Project profitability
  • Multi-currency
  • Track classes and locations (up to 40)
See all features

Advanced

Scale with greater customization

Was$220

$22/mo

Save 90% for 6 months*

Up to 25 users

Plus access for your accountant

Intuit Intelligence

  • Gives tailored financial insightswith Finance AI
  • Pre-fills details to start work fasterwith Project Management AI
  • Customize dashboards with personalized KPIs and metrics to measure what matters mostNew

Everything in Plus, and:

  • Customize user permissions and access
  • Workflow automation
  • Sync data from Excel
  • Revenue recognition
  • Track classes and locations (unlimited)
  • Priority support and on-demand training
  • Backup and restore your data
See all features

Compare all features

EasyStart

$30$3/mo

Best value

Plus

$110$11/mo

Advanced

$220$22/mo

Intuit Intelligence
Intuit Intelligence
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Automates your expense categorization with improved accuracy.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Gives personal, contextual answers to drive growth—and helps automate workflows.BETAIncludedIncludedIncluded
Create custom automations with Intuit Intelligence via chat, or select a suggested template to automate tasks you do often.BETAIncludedIncludedIncluded
Catch errors quickly and stay compliant with AI support that identifies discrepancies and provides recommendations for reconciliation.**IncludedIncludedIncluded
Automates workflows to keep your books clean and up-to-date.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Draft invoices for quick review through simple chat, and send prioritized payment reminders for unpaid items on approval.BETANot includedIncludedIncluded
Turn interest into new business automatically. Customer AI helps you manage leads, follow-ups, and proposals to help accelerate your growth.**Not includedIncludedIncluded
Surfaces trends, anomalies, and what's causing them in plain language, personalized to your business.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Make faster, data-backed decisions and plan for the future with an AI planning agent that analyzes progress toward your KPIs and delivers scenario planning specific to your business.**Not includedNot includedIncluded
Get projects started faster by automatically creating drafts with key details pre-filled.**Not includedNot includedIncluded
Accounting
Accounting
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
QuickBooks learns how you categorize income and expenses and then automatically matches and records transactions from then on.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Automatically sort business expenses into tax categories to keep more of what you earn.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Connect your bank accounts directly to QuickBooks to automatically sync transactions for accurate, real-time data.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Record transactions in other currencies without worrying about exchange rate conversions.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Easily track deferred revenue for accurate reporting and compliance.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Automatically track fixed asset values, access all fixed asset info in one spot, and get insights about what may come next.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Expenses
Expenses
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
When you pay vendors, QuickBooks records the transaction and matches it for you.**IncludedIncludedIncluded
Snap photos of your receipts and categorize them on the go.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Automatically track kilometres, categorize trips, and get sharable reports.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Organize and track your business bills online.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Sales & Get Paid
Sales & Get Paid
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Customize estimates, accept mobile signatures, see estimate status, and convert estimates into invoices.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Accept credit cards and bank transfers in the invoice with QuickBooks Payments, get status updates and reminders.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Sales tax is calculated and tracked for you so you can file confidently with the CRA.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Automatically invoice clients who have regularly-scheduled orders.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Customer Hub
Customer Hub
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Centralize all customer information and filter for insights with custom fields.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Keep an organized list of notes and to-dos for each customer—with automated reminders that you can assign to specific employees.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Capture referrals, testimonials, feedback, and work requests from your customers.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Track new leads and existing customer opportunities in one place—and view their status in the sales cycle.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Upload and store contracts and get e-signatures from your customers.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Create professional-looking proposals with your branding, custom fields, and e-signatures. Track status and set follow-up reminders to keep deals moving with ease.BETANot includedIncludedIncluded
Time
Time
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Enter employee time by client/project and automatically add it to invoices.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Project Management
Project Management
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
See how every project is tracking, so you can control costs and maximize profit.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Automatically create projects and track work with continuous project cost allocation, helping keep you more on time and on budget.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Inventory
Inventory
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Track products, cost of goods, see what’s popular, create purchase orders, and manage vendors.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Create and send purchase orders to your vendors whenever you need to buy supplies, then add it to a transaction so your books are up to date.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Keep track of items you agreed to sell to customers in the future.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Shows your historical cash flow and helps you plan for the future.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Tracks performance on your KPI scorecard using a library of pre-built metrics and custom KPIs.NEWNot includedBasicUnlimited
Consolidates key metrics into interactive dashboards with customizable charts and AI-powered summaries.NEWNot includedBasicUnlimited
Create budgets with real-time data you can collaborate with your team on.Not includedIncludedIncluded
Use your historical financial data to analyze trends and create projections of future outcomes, so you can make better-informed business decisions.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Build and save reports that are tailored to your business needs.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Seamlessly send data back and forth between QuickBooks Online Advanced and Excel for more accurate business data and custom insights.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Connected Platform
Connected Platform
FeatureEasyStartPlusAdvanced
Invite your accountant to access your books, control user-access levels, and share reports without sharing a log-in.1525
Enter transactions, record expenses, invoice customers, and send reports anywhere. QuickBooks automatically backs up your data to the cloud and syncs across all your devices.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Keep track of your high-level business performance, with real time updates on what needs your attention.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Eliminate manual data entry by integrating apps you already use with QuickBooks Online, so data flows in automatically, and you can see everything in one place.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Your work is automatically saved as you go. When you exit a page with unsaved changes, we'll remind you to save before you close.IncludedIncludedIncluded
Run and export reports including profit & loss, balance sheets, accounts payable and accounts receivable.GeneralEnhancedComprehensive
Create and manage users and pre-defined roles, assigning them specific access levels to various areas of QuickBooks.Not includedBasicCustom
Tailor QuickBooks to your business with custom fields that you can use to capture specific customer, vendor, employee, product, and service details.4412
Measure which products, services, and locations are generating the most revenue for your business—and which can be optimized to perform better.Not includedUp to 40Unlimited
Save time and mitigate risk with automated workflows and set reminders for improved cash flow and more.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Create invoices, enter, edit, and send multiple invoices faster.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Continuously and automatically back up your changes, restore a specific version of your company, and view version history.Not includedNot includedIncluded
Front-of-the-line support over phone and chat.Not includedNot includedIncluded

Tax deductions

Help avoid tax-time surprises

  • Share your books with your accountant or export important documents come tax time.
  • Easily organize income and expenses into tax categories.
  • Automatically sort business expenses into the right tax categories to keep more of what you earn.
Help avoid tax-time surprises

Multiple currencies

Manage your cross-border business

  • Pay and get paid in currencies of customers, vendors, or bank accounts that don't use your home currency.
  • Get automatic updates to currency conversions every 4 hours.
  • Add transactions in another currency and QuickBooks handles all currency conversions.
Manage your cross-border business

Revenue recognition

Stay consistent, compliant, and credible with automated revenue recognition

  • Automatically track and enter deferred revenue to your books—avoid manual work in spreadsheets and third party tools.
  • Get the most clear and accurate picture of your business health with better analysis and reporting.
Stay consistent, compliant, and credible with automated revenue recognition

Auto-track fixed assets

Automated fixed asset depreciation

  • Add fixed assets to QuickBooks by entering asset details or pasting data straight from a spreadsheet.
  • QuickBooks will automatically create schedules and record book depreciation for your assets at the end of each month.
  • View your fixed asset schedules in one place and easily change asset details.
Automated fixed asset depreciation

Auto-match transactions

Ditch the shoebox and save with a snap

  • Snap photos to add receipts on the go. Upload or email receipts to QuickBooks in seconds.
  • We'll match your receipts to existing expenses or create new expenses for you.
  • QuickBooks sorts your receipts into tax categories so you feel confident come tax time.
Ditch the shoebox and save with a snap

Receipt capture

Ditch the shoebox and save with a snap

  • Snap photos to add receipts on the go. Upload or email receipts to QuickBooks in seconds.
  • We'll match your receipts to existing expenses or create new expenses for you.
  • QuickBooks sorts your receipts into tax categories so you feel confident come tax time.
Ditch the shoebox and save with a snap

Mileage tracking

Make every kilometre count

  • Find on average 46% more deductions by logging kilometres driven.*
  • Automatically track kilometres with your phone's GPS.
  • Categorize business and personal trips and add trips manually.
Make every kilometre count

*Based on TY17 Self-Employed CA subscribers that have identified >$0 in income and >$0 in business expenses.

Bill management

Simplify bill management

  • Organize and track your business bills and invoices in QuickBooks.
  • See what you owe, when, and to who, at a glance.
Simplify bill management

Estimates

Get hired with professional estimates

  • Customize estimates to fit your brand and business needs.
  • Accept mobile signatures and instantly see estimate status.
  • Convert estimates into invoices with ease.
Get hired with professional estimates

Invoice and payments

Look professional and get paid fast

  • Accept all credit cards and bank transfers, right in the invoice.*
  • Track invoice status, send payment reminders, and match payments to invoices, automatically.
  • Create professional custom invoices with your logo that you can send from any device.
Look professional and get paid fast

*Additional terms & fees required. Only credit card payments in Canadian dollars can be accepted.

Sales and sales tax

Keep sales in sync no matter how you get paid

  • Connect to the e-commerce tools you love including Shopify.*
  • Track sales tax on income and expenses so you know where you stand and how much you owe.
  • Sales Tax AI flags duplicate transactions and suggest tax categories — ready for you to review.
Keep sales in sync no matter how you get paid

*Additional terms and fees may apply for third-party apps

Enter time

Enter employee time and billable hours

  • Record employee time by client or project and automatically add it to invoices.
  • Get QuickBooks Payroll for integrated payroll and time tracking tools.**
Enter employee time and billable hours

*Enter time is not available in QuickBooks Self-Employed or Easy Start **Additional terms, conditions, and fees may apply.

Project profitability

Organize projects with a clear view of profits

  • Track all time expenses on your projects and view outstanding payments and unbilled work.
  • Understand the full scope of a project by tracking non-billable time for each project.
Organize projects with a clear view of profits

Inventory tracking

Stay stocked for success

  • Track products, cost of goods, and receive notifications when inventory is low.
  • See what's popular, create purchase orders, and manage vendors.
  • Import from Excel or sync with Amazon, Shopify, eBay, and more*.
Stay stocked for success

*Additional terms & fees may apply for third-party apps

Budgeting

Always know whether you're on the right track

  • Create and manage budgets from scratch, by uploading from a spreadsheet, or sync with Excel using spreadsheet sync*.
  • Track your performance in relation to the budget in dollars and percentages.
  • Make the right decisions for your business based on your budgets managed in QuickBooks with up-to-date performance data.

*Spreadsheet sync is only available with QuickBooks Online Advanced

Data sync with Excel

Automatically sync your spreadsheets

  • Avoid manual errors and have confidence in your data by seamlessly connecting Advanced and Excel.*
  • Use pre-made templates, build consolidated reports for multiple companies, and refresh your data in a single step.
  • Work with your data how you want, and create flexible workflows with familiar tools.
Automatically sync your spreadsheets

*Spreadsheet Sync: Automatic refresh requires setup and will update workbooks or individual sheets every time you open the workbook or login to Spreadsheet Sync.

Reports

Know your business at-a-glance

  • Run and export reports including profit & loss, expenses, and balance sheets.
  • Avoid surprises by easily tracking cash flow and reporting on your dashboard.
  • Share a professional-looking summary of your finances with your business partners.
  • With Advanced, build customized dashboards to measure performance, and create custom charts to track and monitor gross revenue, net profit, or expenses by class or location.
Know your business at-a-glance

Workflow automation

Automate key accounting tasks

  • Set reminders for transactions like invoices, payments, or deposits with a due date.
  • Notify customers when their payment has been received.
  • Route invoices through on pre-set approval flows quickly.
Automate key accounting tasks

Batch invoices and expenses

Do less manual work

  • Create invoices 37% faster with batch invoicing.*
  • Import and send hundreds of invoices and expenses at once.
Do less manual work

*QuickBooks Online Advanced – Batch Invoicing and Create Invoices 37% Faster claim: Based off of tests comparing QuickBooks Online regular invoice workflow with QuickBooks Online Advanced multiple invoice workflow. Number of invoices imported depends on the number of transaction lines in the .CSV file. Customers received remuneration for participating in the tests.

Backup and restore

Easily restore QuickBooks data

  • Have peace of mind knowing your data is saved automatically and regularly.*
  • Restore to a previous time period, so if data is entered incorrectly for any reason, you can quickly make the fix.
  • No need to pay for extra software or services to keep and restore your data.
Easily restore QuickBooks data

*QuickBooks Online Advanced – Automatic data backup and recovery: QuickBooks Online uses technical and administrative security measures such as, but not limited to, firewalls, encryption techniques, and authentication procedures, among others, to work to maintain the security of your online session and information.

Premium support

Expert guidance whenever you need it

  • Access to a dedicated team that's behind you every step of the way.
  • Front-of-the-line support routed via phone and online chat.
Expert guidance whenever you need it

All plans include

Image Alt Text

User-friendly
design

QuickBooks' user-friendly interface makes navigating your finances a breeze, even if you're not an accounting expert. The layout and simple design ensure that you can find what you need quickly and efficiently.

A blue headphones with numbers on them.

Solid customer
support

With QuickBooks, you'll get expert help from real people through phone and live chat six days a week. Our specialists are here to support you with every part of your QuickBooks journey, from the initial switch to onboarding.

Image Alt Text

Smart app
integrations

Seamlessly connect QuickBooks to over 750 apps and tools, creating a unified hub for your business operations. From CRM systems to payment processors, QuickBooks integrates with a wide range of popular platforms, saving you time and effort.

Overview of Wave plans

Wave provides two distinct pricing plans tailored to different business needs: Starter and Pro, each offering varying levels of functionality and support.

Starter

The Wave Starter plan is a budget-friendly option for startups, small businesses, and the self-employed. It supports basic accounting requirements with invoicing, expense management, and reporting features.

Pro

Pro is designed for businesses seeking more automation. It includes everything in Starter, plus digital receipt capture, automated import, merge and categorization of bank transactions, and automated late payment reminders.

All Wave plans include

Image Alt Text

Invoicing

Wave allows you to create and send professional invoices. However, sending recurring invoices requires the Pro plan.

A blue headphones with numbers on them.

Customer support

Live customer chat and email support are available on weekdays from 9 am - 5 pm EST with the Pro Plan. Other resources include an automated support chatbot and an online resource center. There is no inbound phone line.

Image Alt Text

Integrations

Wave integrates with thousands of apps to extend its core functionality. To connect third-party tools, Zapier is required, which may lead to additional costs and complexity.

See how QuickBooks works

It’s easy to see why QuickBooks is a standout choice for small-to mid-size businesses. Its robust feature set, industry-specific tools, and readily available live customer support make it a comprehensive and user-friendly solution designed to help grow—and scale with—your business. 

A person is holding a flower in her hand.
Get started

Frequently asked questions

Explore additional comparisons

Choose the right accounting solution fit for your business.

QuickBooks vs. Freshbooks

Learn more

QuickBooks vs. Xero

Learn more

Join millions of small businesses on QuickBooks

Your privacy

We collect data when you use our website to improve its performance. Doing so also helps us provide a secure, personalized experience. Select 'Accept cookies' to agree or 'Cookies settings' to choose which cookies we use. You can change your preferences anytime by clicking the 'Manage cookies' link in the footer.

Choose your cookie preferences

Some cookies are needed to make our website work and can't be turned off. But we need your consent to use others that are not essential. You can make your choices below and update them at any time using the 'Manage Cookies' link. To find out more, visit our Cookies Policy.

These cookies are necessary for the site to function. They also help us keep your data safe.
These cookies allow us to enhance your experience and remember your preferences, region or country, language, and accessibility options.
These cookies tell us how customers use our website. We study and organize this data to help us optimise our content and provide you with personalised experiences.
These cookies help us provide you with relevant communications and ads in our products and on other sites.
Intuit Intelligence
Try asking: