Top 9 of 40 alternatives
9 Wave alternatives, 2 with a free plan (2026)
The closest alternatives to Wave in October 2026 are Zoho Books, FreeAgent and Puzzle.
9 tools compared · entry plans $13.40 to $79 a month · 2 with a free plan · prices checked 26–28 October 2026
Reviewed by the Tick Mark Books editorial team.
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Wave and its alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starts at | A month at 100 transactions | Better than Wave at | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Freelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software | Free, then $19 a month source | $19 | 28 October 2026 | |
| Zoho Books | Small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a month source | $20 | What the AI does, Square | 26 October 2026 |
| FreeAgent | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month source | About $25 | What the AI does, Platforms | 26 October 2026 |
| Puzzle | 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 | 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 | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established | $156 | Getting your books out, Australia | 26 October 2026 |
| SimpleAI | Accounting firms and finance teams processing high volumes of invoices and bank statements | From $79 a month source | $106 | What the AI does, Platforms | 27 October 2026 |
| QuickBooks Online | Small businesses that want one ledger plus payroll, payments and an accountant login | Free, then $38 a month source | $38 | What the AI does, Pays your bills | 28 October 2026 |
| Digits | A US startup or small business that wants its own AI-kept ledger in place of QuickBooks | From $65 a month source | $65 | What the AI does, Pays your bills | 27 October 2026 |
| Xero | Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees | From $27 a month source | $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.
Closest alternatives to Wave
The ones people open most here come first, then the closest matches. How we rank
- From Free
Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month.
Why it's on this listWhat the AI does: YesZia 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.
- From £10 a month (about $13)
UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.
Why it's on this listWhat the AI does: YesTwo 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.
- Price not established
AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses.
The rest of the shortlist
- Price not established
Pilot
A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors.
- Price not established
Booke AI
An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents.
- From $79 a month
SimpleAI
AI agents that extract, classify and reconcile accounting documents, then publish them into Xero or QuickBooks.
- From Free
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud ledger, now with Intuit Intelligence agents that categorize, reconcile and flag errors.
- From $65 a month
Digits
AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses.
- From $27 a month
Xero
Small-business ledger with a JAX assistant that answers questions in plain language; unlimited users on every plan.
Compare Wave with the shortlist
Compare alternatives to Wave
The digest
What changed in tools. New tools and articles, by email, at most once a week.
Questions buyers ask
What are the best alternatives to Wave?
Zoho Books, FreeAgent and Puzzle are the closest. They share the most of Wave's features.
What is the cheapest alternative to Wave?
2 of the 9 have a free plan: Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online. The lowest paid plan is FreeAgent, from about $13 a month. Price checked on 26 October 2026.
How much do Wave alternatives cost?
Entry plans run from $13.40 to $79 a month, and half cost $27 or less.
When were these prices checked?
We read each price between 26 October 2026 and 28 October 2026 on the maker's own pricing page.
Sources and method
Closest first: most of Wave's features, then the fewest gaps. How we rank
Every price was read on the maker's own pricing page.
- Wave: waveapps.com/pricing, checked 28 October 2026
- Zoho Books: zoho.com/us/books/pricing, checked 26 October 2026
- FreeAgent: freeagent.com/pricing, checked 26 October 2026
- SimpleAI: simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing, checked 27 October 2026
- QuickBooks Online: quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing, checked 28 October 2026
- Digits: digits.com/pricing, checked 27 October 2026
- Xero: xero.com/us/pricing-plans, checked 28 October 2026
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