Xero vs Wave Accounting: Features, Pricing and Verdict

Xero starts at $27 a month while Wave's Starter plan is free. We compare pricing, invoicing limits, bank feeds, multi-currency and users to pick a winner.

By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-10T10:27:46+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-10T10:27:46+00:00

Xero vs Wave Accounting: Features, Pricing and Verdict

Xero vs Wave Accounting comes down to one question: do you want a full accounting platform, or a free ledger that covers the basics? Xero is a paid subscription service. Its United States plans start at $27 a month. Wave offers a Starter plan that costs $0 and includes unlimited invoices. Both tools handle double-entry bookkeeping. The best choice depends on your transaction volume, your need for bank feeds, and whether you trade in more than one currency.

This comparison uses prices and plan limits from each company's own pricing page. Prices change, so check the live page before you buy. All figures below are in US dollars unless stated otherwise.

Xero vs Wave Accounting at a glance

The table shows the core trade-off. Xero charges every month but includes more automation on every plan. Wave is free at the entry level but charges for the automation that most owners want. Read on for the detail.

Pricing compared

Xero sells three plans in the United States. Early costs $27 a month. Growing costs $59 a month. Established costs $97 a month. All three bill monthly, and Xero offers no annual prepay option in the US. New customers get 80% off for the first three months. That brings Early to $5.40 a month for the introductory period. Prices exclude sales tax.

Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. Growing removes the cap and adds bulk reconciliation, three budgets, and a 60-day cash flow forecast. Established adds multi-currency, project tracking, expense claims, and a 180-day forecast. Payroll is a separate add-on on every plan. Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, costs $36 a month plus $6 per person paid.

Wave sells two plans. Starter costs $0. It includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. Pro costs $19 a month, or $190 a year. Pro adds automatic bank imports, receipt capture, late payment reminders, and extra user roles. Receipt scanning is also sold alone at $11 a month on Starter and $8 a month on Pro.

Wave also earns from card processing. Card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on Starter. American Express costs 3.4% plus $0.60. Pro removes the fixed fee on the first ten card payments each month. Wave payroll costs $40 a month plus $6 per active employee or contractor paid. Neither payroll price is part of the headline plan price. Add it to your monthly total before you compare.

Features compared

Invoicing is where the two tools differ first. Xero Early limits you to 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. Growing and Established remove the cap. Wave places no cap on invoices at any level. Its free plan includes unlimited estimates, invoices, and bills. If you send more than 20 invoices a month, Xero Early will hold you back. Wave will not.

Bank feeds are the second big difference. Every Xero plan includes bank reconciliation. Wave keeps automatic bank imports on Pro. Starter users enter transactions by hand. That is the single biggest practical gap between the tools. Manual entry is fine for a handful of transactions a month. It becomes a chore once volume grows.

Multi-currency and user limits come next. Xero Established includes multi-currency support. Lower Xero plans do not. Wave has no multi-currency support at any level. Xero includes unlimited users on every plan, with role-based permissions. Wave Starter allows only the owner plus a payroll manager or a tax professional. Admin, editor, and viewer roles need Pro.

Reports are close. Both tools produce profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow reports. Wave includes these on the free plan. Xero adds budgeting on Growing and analytics on Established. Xero connects to a large app marketplace with more than 1,000 apps. Wave offers third-party integrations on Pro only.

Neither tool is a stock control system. Wave has no inventory tracking at all. Xero tracks inventory items but lacks warehouse-level controls. Wave has no time tracking either. Xero covers project time and costs only on Established. Product sellers and hourly billers should check these limits before they commit.

Who should choose Xero

Choose Xero if your business is growing. Pick it if you invoice in more than one currency. Pick it if several people need access to the books. Pick it if you want bank feeds included from day one. Accountants also tend to prefer Xero. Its advisor tools and app ecosystem fit client work. The monthly cost is the trade-off. At $27 a month for Early, it is a real line in a small budget.

Who should choose Wave

Choose Wave if your budget is zero. Pick it if you are a freelancer or sole trader with simple books. Pick it if you send a modest number of invoices and can enter bank transactions by hand. Wave works best in the United States and Canada. Its payments and payroll tools do not cover other regions. If you outgrow manual entry, Pro at $19 a month is a small step up. It adds the bank feeds and receipt capture that most owners miss first.

Switching between Xero and Wave

Moving from Wave to Xero is the common direction. Export your chart of accounts, customer list, and open invoices before you cancel anything. Reconcile the bank accounts in Wave first. A clean cut-off date avoids double-counted income. Moving from Xero to Wave is less common. It usually follows a business shrinking back to freelance scale. Either way, keep a copy of your old data. Both tools let you export the core records. Check the export options before you start a trial.

Xero vs Wave Accounting: reporting and support

Reports are close on paper. Both tools produce profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow reports. Wave includes these on the free plan, which is generous. Xero adds more as you pay. Growing adds three budgets and custom performance dashboards. Established adds KPI analysis and industry benchmarking. A freelancer tracking simple income and spending will not miss the extras. A growing business that reports to a board or a lender will use them.

Support differs too. Xero offers online support on all plans. Wave includes live human support on Pro. Starter users rely on the help centre. If you expect to need help, factor that in. A free plan with no live support can cost more in time than a paid plan with a person on the other end. That is the quiet trade-off in the Xero vs Wave Accounting decision: Xero charges for the software, while Wave charges for the help around it.

Bottom line

Xero vs Wave Accounting is a contest between power and price. Wave wins on price. Its free plan is a real ledger, not a trial. Xero wins on depth. It covers multi-currency, unlimited users, and bank feeds on every plan. Start with Wave if you are small and your books are simple. Move to Xero when manual entry, user limits, or a single currency start to slow you down.