Wave
9.0#2 in bookkeeping softwareFrom $72 a yearFree planAndroidiOSWebAPI
VisitWave vs ZipBooks
What both publish
| Fact | Wave | ZipBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | Wave uses double-entry accounting and provides income, expense, cash-flow, profit-and-loss and balance-sheet reporting. | The accounting tools provide bank reconciliation, reports, automatic categorization and color-coded transaction views. |
| API | Wave provides an API with application creation, endpoint documentation, query and mutation examples, a playground and webhooks. | The public API uses JSON API responses, JWT authentication and documented contacts, estimates and invoice endpoints under api.zipbooks.com/v2. |
| Company size | LinkedIn lists Wave HQ as a privately held software company with 201–500 employees in Toronto. | LinkedIn lists ZipBooks as a privately held financial-services company with 11–50 employees. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Utah, USA |
| Integrations | Wave Pro lists integrations including Etsy, Driversnote, GoHighLevel, Google Sheets and Make.com. | Official pricing names Gusto integration, while the product accepts payments through Square or PayPal; reviewers also mention Stripe, Google Drive and Slack. |
| Invoicing | Users can create unlimited professional invoices and estimates, send them online, track status and accept card or bank payments. | Users can create invoices and estimates, accept card or PayPal payments, automate recurring billing and send payment reminders. |
| Licence | Wave API use is governed by Wave terms of service; the reviewed pages do not identify an open-source licence. | The terms identify ZipBooks software and site content as company or licensor property and restrict copying, resale and modification, indicating a proprietary licence. |
| Ownership news | H&R Block announced on June 11, 2019 that it would acquire Wave for $405 million in cash. | Crunchbase records ZipBooks as acquired by Divvy, with the announcement date obscured on the public profile. |
| Praise: ease of use | G2 reviewers repeatedly praise Wave as user-friendly, especially for non-accountants. | Reviewers repeatedly describe the interface as clean, intuitive, simple to navigate and suitable for people without accounting expertise. |
| Praise: value | GetApp reports that reviewers commonly view the free plan as strong value for small businesses. | Reviewers commonly praise the free Starter plan, unlimited invoicing and low-cost paid tiers as strong value for freelancers and small businesses. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.3 out of 5 from 358 reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 99 reviews. |
Wave plans
- StarterFree
- Receipts$8 a month
- Pro$19 a month
- Pro Plan$19 a month
- Receipts$72 a year
- Wave Advisors$149 a month
ZipBooks plans
- StarterFree
- Smarter$15 a month
- Sophisticated$35 a month
- AccountantPriced on request
Pick Wave if…
Wave suits businesses that need invoicing, payment collection, customer records, and connected bookkeeping. Its Starter plan is aimed at people starting a business or seeking basic features.
Pick ZipBooks if…
ZipBooks suits small businesses that need invoicing and accounting tools alongside time tracking and financial reports. It may also suit teams that use Gusto, Square, or PayPal.