# Alternatives to Wave

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave/alternatives/ (re-verified)
> Updated: 28 October 2026

## At a glance

| Name | Best for | Starts at | A month at 100 transactions | Better than Wave at | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md) | Freelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software | Free, then $19 a month | $19 | — | 28 October 2026 |
| [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books.md) | Small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a month | $20 | What the AI does, Square | 26 October 2026 |
| [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md) | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month | About $25 | What the AI does, Platforms | 26 October 2026 |
| [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle.md) | A US startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks | Price not established | $30 | Gusto payroll, Getting your books out | 26 October 2026 |
| [Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its books done for it in QuickBooks Online | Price not established | $137 | Square, Gusto payroll | 26 October 2026 |
| [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai.md) | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established | $156 | Getting your books out, Australia | 26 October 2026 |
| [SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai.md) | Accounting firms and finance teams processing high volumes of invoices and bank statements | From $79 a month | $106 | What the AI does, Platforms | 27 October 2026 |
| [QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online.md) | Small businesses that want one ledger plus payroll, payments and an accountant login | Free, then $38 a month | $38 | What the AI does, Pays your bills | 28 October 2026 |
| [Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its own AI-kept ledger in place of QuickBooks | From $65 a month | $65 | What the AI does, Pays your bills | 27 October 2026 |
| [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md) | Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees | From $27 a month | $27 | What the AI does, Pays your bills | 28 October 2026 |

“About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

The ones people open most here come first, then the closest matches.

## Shortlist

### 1. Zoho Books

Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [What the AI does: yes — Zia answers finance questions in plain English, flags anomalies in report data, pre-fills bank statement categorization, drafts emails and generates invoices, quotes and reports from a prompt.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software/ai-in-accounting/)
- [Square: partial — Stripe, PayPal, Square and Authorize.Net are supported payment gateways and Shopify stores connect on Elite and above (up to two)](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)
- [Platforms: yes — Runs in the browser on web, as a Windows desktop app from the Microsoft Store, on Mac through the browser (no Mac app named), and as native iPhone and Android apps.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Promotion and regular price: no — none — the $20 Standard rate is the standing month-to-month price; the lower $15 figure is simply the yearly billing rate, not a time-limited introductory offer.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Categorizes transactions: partial — Zia pre-fills the account and vendor against each imported bank line, so it suggests rather than posts by itself, and the page does not claim it learns from your corrections.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software/ai-in-accounting/)
- [Your accountant can sign in: partial — The Free plan is quoted as one user plus one accountant, so an accountant seat is free there; the paid plans are quoted only as user counts, with extra users at $3 a month.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)

[View Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books)

### 2. FreeAgent

UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [What the AI does: yes — Two AI features: machine-learning categorization of bank transactions that learns from your corrections, and Smart Capture, which extracts data from receipts and bills and matches them to transactions.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/banking/)
- [Platforms: yes — web, ios, android: it runs in the browser on any internet-connected device, with native iOS and Android apps; no Windows or Mac desktop application is offered.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/mobile/)
- [Getting your books out: yes — Level 8 users can export the whole account to a spreadsheet and all attachments to a zip; FreeAgent warns the export is for record keeping and cannot be loaded back in.](https://support.freeagent.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115001218490-Export-all-data-attachments-and-files-in-your-FreeAgent-account)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [What the AI costs: partial — included in every plan for smart categorization and the first ten captures a month; processing more than ten receipts or bills needs the £5 (about $6.70)-a-month Smart Capture Unlimited add-on.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [Accrual books and reports: partial — It keeps accruals-basis books with automatic accounting reports, a dashboard profit and loss and limited-company Final Accounts; what it publishes for cash is a Cashflow forecast, not a monthly cash flow statement.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [People check the books: no — Checking the AI is yours: Smart Capture ends with you approving each captured bill or receipt, and no plan includes a bookkeeper reviewing the books, only UK support accountants answering questions.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/expenses/)

[View FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent)

### 3. Puzzle

AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [Gusto payroll: yes — Stripe and Gusto yes](https://puzzle.io/integrations/stripe)
- [Getting your books out: yes — Full general ledger and statements export. From Downloads you can export the full general ledger detail (all historical journal entries in one file), the chart of accounts, transactions and financial statements on cash or accrual basis, as Excel, CSV or PDF.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/8441512-can-i-export-my-data)
- [Support: yes — In-app chat, Mon-Fri 10am-4pm PT; no phone. Chat inside Puzzle, staffed Monday to Friday 10am-4pm Pacific, with replies within one business day and an AI assistant at any time.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/12657717-how-to-contact-support)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — You reconcile on Starter; AI drafts it from Complete. Every plan has a reconciliation screen where you match the month's transactions to the statement until the difference is $0, then Puzzle runs an auto-validation check.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/6986882-how-to-reconcile-bank-and-credit-card-accounts-in-puzzle)
- [Reads receipts and bills: partial — Reads an uploaded receipt; no stated matching. You can attach documents to a transaction or bill.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/15138987-month-end-close-with-ai-close)
- [Accrual books and reports: partial — Cash and accrual P&L and balance sheet; no cash flow. Every plan keeps cash and accrual books at once ('Cash & accrual books' on Starter) and drafts a balance sheet and profit and loss.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/8441346-what-reports-does-puzzle-provide)

[View Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle)

### 4. Pilot

A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [Square: yes — PayPal, Square listed](https://pilot.com/platform/integrations)
- [Gusto payroll: yes — Stripe, Shopify, Gusto yes](https://pilot.com/platform/integrations)
- [Getting your books out: yes — QuickBooks Online file handed to you. When bookkeeping ends, Pilot hands you primary administrator status of the QuickBooks Online account, so you keep the full ledger in QuickBooks Online (continuing the Intuit subscription yourself) or export it.](https://pilot.com/terms/client-terms)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Ledger included: no — Works in QuickBooks Online; you pay for the license. Every bookkeeping plan is done in QuickBooks Online (FAQ: 'Pilot does all of its bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online').](https://pilot.com/terms/client-terms)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: yes — Onboarding charge equal to one month. A one-time onboarding charge equal to one month of bookkeeping on every plan (so $99 on Essentials and $399 to $1,199 on Core, by band, at monthly billing).](https://pilot.com/faq)
- [Sends invoices: partial — Invoicing is an add-on service. Pilot has no invoicing feature in its bookkeeping plans.](https://pilot.com/faq)

[View Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot)

### 5. Booke AI

An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [Getting your books out: yes — Books stay in your ledger; 30 days to export the rest. The ledger never leaves QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the general ledger and reports stay with you.](https://booke.ai/data-handling)
- [Australia: yes — US, Canada, UK and Australia, in local currency.](https://booke.ai/)
- [Support: yes — Chat (weekdays 9-6 EST) and email; no phone listed. Chat: in the platform, Mon-Fri 9 AM-6 PM EST, 2-hour response (the SLA's header says 3 hours).](https://booke.ai/sla)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Ledger included: no — No: you also pay for QuickBooks Online or Xero. Booke works inside an existing QuickBooks Online or Xero file, joining it as a user; it is not a ledger and no ledger license is in its price.](https://booke.ai/)
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Prepares reconciliation; your team completes it. In QuickBooks Online it prepares work for reconciliation and does not promise a reconciled file; in Xero it can perform 'supported reconciliation actions for eligible configured cases' and leaves the rest open.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-automation-software)
- [Sends invoices: partial — Matches payments to ledger invoices; sends none. It matches incoming payments to invoices that already exist in QuickBooks Online or Xero, including multi-invoice payments.](https://booke.ai/quickbooks-online)

[View Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai)

### 6. SimpleAI

AI agents that extract, classify and reconcile accounting documents, then publish them into Xero or QuickBooks.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [What the AI does: yes — The accounting agent extracts data from invoices, bills, bank statements and supporting documents, classifies the entries, reconciles transactions and prepares them for publishing into your ledger, and it learns from your corrections and custom prompts.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en)
- [Platforms: yes — web: it is a browser platform you register for online, and documents can be sent in from a desktop, a mobile device or by email; no Windows, Mac, iOS or Android app is advertised anywhere on the site.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/solutions/bank-extraction)
- [Australia: yes — The SAAM pricing page prices plans for the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and rest of world, so it is sold well beyond its Singapore base](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Promotion and regular price: no — none on the SAAM plan cards: the only discount the vendor names on them is 10% for annual billing, and the separate Bank Statement Extraction module is the one that runs a labeled limited-time promotion.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)
- [Ledger included: no — SAAM is not the ledger: it extracts and classifies documents and then publishes entries into the accounting software you already pay for, so a Xero, QuickBooks or Accurate subscription sits on top of its price.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)
- [Sends invoices: partial — Sending invoices belongs to the other product lines, not SAAM: NOVA handles invoices and AR aging conversationally, and the e-Invoicing module issues Peppol invoices for Singapore, while SAAM only extracts AR documents.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/solutions/nova)

[View SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai)

### 7. QuickBooks Online

Intuit's cloud ledger, now with Intuit Intelligence agents that categorize, reconcile and flag errors.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [What the AI does: yes — Intuit Intelligence runs inside the ledger, learning categorization patterns and performing bookkeeping tasks, with the deeper agents reserved for the Plus and Advanced tiers.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Bills can be tracked and paid from Simple Start upward, with five standard ACH payments a month included and fifty cents each beyond the allotment; approval workflows are an Advanced feature.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Platforms: yes — web, ios, android: it runs in any browser on a connected device, with a free companion app on the App Store and Google Play; some features are browser-only.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Automated reconciliation is a Plus-tier and above feature on the plan cards; the Simple Start and Essentials cards do not list it, so cheaper tiers leave the matching to you.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Stripe: partial — Third-party app integrations are offered with paid plans and an app marketplace, but they are explicitly unavailable on the Free plan, and the pages read name no individual app such as Stripe or Shopify.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Shopify: partial — Third-party app integrations are offered with paid plans and an app marketplace, but they are explicitly unavailable on the Free plan, and the pages read name no individual app such as Stripe or Shopify.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)

[View QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online)

### 8. Digits

AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [What the AI does: yes — The AI categorizes, reconciles and verifies inside the ledger itself, with the vendor claiming over 96% of transactions post with no accounting action, on every public plan.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Bill Pay reads the invoice, routes it for approval and pays by ACH inside the same ledger, and it is listed as Included on every public plan; payment processing costs are priced separately in the Help Center.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Gusto payroll: yes — Stripe, Ramp, BILL, Mercury, Gusto and Reach Reporting are native integrations and payroll syncs from 20 providers](https://digits.com/ai-info/)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Promotion and regular price: no — none: the three plan cards publish flat monthly rates with no introductory discount, countdown or 'then' price attached to any of them on the public pricing page.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Your own bookkeeper: no — No bookkeeper comes with a subscription; Digits is software and refers businesses that want a person to certified partner firms, who bill separately for full-service accounting.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [Shopify: no — Shopify, PayPal and Square payments are not named among them.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)

[View Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits)

### 9. Xero

Small-business ledger with a JAX assistant that answers questions in plain language; unlimited users on every plan.

**Where it improves on Wave:**
- [What the AI does: yes — JAX, built into the navigation bar and the mobile app, answers questions about your own Xero figures, pulls in outside market data and drafts admin such as invoices and quotes.](https://www.xero.com/us/ai-in-accounting/jax/)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Bills are captured and tracked with approval roles and duplicate spotting, and standard domestic ACH payments are included in every business plan, with fees on other methods.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
- [Square: yes — Xero publishes App Store listings for Stripe, Shopify, PayPal, Square and Gusto](https://apps.xero.com/us/app/shopify)

**Trade-offs against Wave:**
- [Categorizes transactions: partial — Bank rules categorize recurring transactions for you and Xero suggests matches, but hands-off auto-reconcile is a $5 a month add-on on Early and only included from Growing up; no page claims it learns from your corrections.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
- [Sends invoices: partial — Invoicing with online payment acceptance is on every plan, but Early is capped at 20 invoices a month before you must move up to Growing.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
- [Payroll: partial — add-on: payroll is not in the plan price but is sold beside it as Xero Payroll powered by Gusto at $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor, on any plan.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)

[View Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero)