Compare QuickBooks Online and Wave 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Small-Business (82.3% of reviews)
Small-Business (95.1% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$20 per month
$20-$35 per month
QuickBooks Online
Star Rating
(3,402)4.0 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (82.3% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$20 per month
Browse all 4 pricing plansWave
Star Rating
(295)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (95.1% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$20-$35 per month
Browse all 3 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that QuickBooks Online excels in its "Inventory Tracking" feature, scoring a perfect 9.0, which allows for detailed oversight of stock levels and movements. In contrast, Wave's inventory management capabilities are less robust, with users mentioning that it lacks comprehensive tracking features.
- Reviewers mention that QuickBooks Online's "Ease of Setup" is rated at 7.9, which some users find slightly challenging compared to Wave's impressive score of 8.9. Users on G2 appreciate Wave's straightforward onboarding process, making it more accessible for small businesses.
- G2 users highlight QuickBooks Online's "Quality of Support" as a downside, with a score of 7.5, while Wave offers a slightly better experience at 7.7. Reviewers say that Wave's customer service is more responsive, which is crucial for businesses needing timely assistance.
- Users report that QuickBooks Online shines in "Accounts Receivable" automation, particularly with its "Invoice Customization" feature rated at 8.1. However, Wave users mention that its "AR Automation" at 8.2 provides a more user-friendly experience, making it easier to manage invoices and payments.
- Reviewers mention that QuickBooks Online's "Reporting & Analytics" features, particularly "Financial Statements," score 8.6, providing detailed insights. In contrast, Wave's reporting capabilities, while decent at 8.3, are seen as less comprehensive, with users wishing for more customization options.
- Users on G2 highlight that QuickBooks Online's "Payroll" feature, rated at 8.3, is robust but can be complex, while Wave's payroll functionality, scoring 7.2, is simpler but lacks some advanced features. Reviewers say that businesses with more complex payroll needs may find QuickBooks more suitable.
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Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
QuickBooks Online
Simple Start
$20
per month
- Customize and send invoices
- Track income and expenses
- Create and manage estimates
Wave
Pay your staff
$20-$35
per month
$20/month base fee in Canada + 44 states
$35/month base fee in California, Florida, New York, Texas, Illinois & Washington
$4 additional per employee added
- Includes direct deposit.
- Employee portal to check pay stubs and history.
- Perfect for salaried and hourly workers, full-time or part-time.
Free Trial
QuickBooks Online
Free Trial is available
Wave
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.3
2,817
8.6
238
Ease of Use
8.2
2,848
8.9
239
Ease of Setup
7.9
1,383
8.9
109
Ease of Admin
8.1
1,329
8.8
107
Quality of Support
7.5
2,538
7.7
157
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
7.8
1,295
8.6
99
Product Direction (% positive)
7.5
2,763
8.0
229
Features by Category
General Ledger
8.0
780
8.0
45
|
Verified
7.9
1215
|
Verified
7.9
36
|
Verified
8.1
1321
|
Verified
7.6
35
|
Verified
Accounts Receivable
8.1
1470
|
Verified
8.7
63
8.0
1184
|
Verified
8.2
44
|
Verified
7.7
1017
|
Verified
8.1
38
|
Verified
Accounts Payable
7.6
609
7.8
27
8.3
1334
|
Verified
8.2
42
|
Verified
8.1
1003
|
Verified
7.2
23
|
Verified
Other Functionality
7.7
791
|
Verified
7.0
19
|
Verified
7.7
818
|
Verified
7.3
21
|
Verified
7.7
791
|
Verified
6.9
20
7.7
998
|
Verified
7.3
23
|
Verified
7.9
1166
|
Verified
7.4
24
|
Verified
8.4
1511
|
Verified
7.7
36
|
Verified
8.3
1030
|
Verified
7.2
19
|
Verified
8.2
1076
|
Verified
7.3
18
|
Verified
Reporting & Analytics
8.6
1674
|
Verified
8.3
64
|
Verified
8.1
1627
|
Verified
7.8
51
|
Verified
7.9
1262
|
Verified
7.9
32
|
Verified
8.2
1613
|
Verified
8.7
62
|
Verified
Platform
7.5
1404
|
Verified
7.6
51
|
Verified
7.7
1256
|
Verified
7.7
33
|
Verified
8.3
1506
|
Verified
7.9
47
|
Verified
7.9
920
|
Verified
7.5
21
|
Verified
8.3
1608
|
Verified
8.4
56
|
Verified
8.1
1416
|
Verified
8.0
46
|
Verified
Integration
7.9
1444
|
Verified
8.1
41
|
Verified
7.6
569
7.7
24
8.0
1075
7.1
24
|
Verified
Cash Flow
8.4
508
|
Verified
8.1
24
|
Verified
8.8
578
|
Verified
8.4
27
|
Verified
8.4
531
|
Verified
7.8
20
|
Verified
Budgeting & Forecasting
7.9
1262
|
Verified
7.9
32
|
Verified
8.2
473
|
Verified
7.5
17
|
Verified
7.9
392
|
Verified
7.1
11
|
Verified
8.3
498
|
Verified
7.5
19
|
Verified
Revenue
8.4
500
|
Verified
8.3
20
|
Verified
8.4
469
|
Verified
7.9
15
|
Verified
8.1
401
7.8
13
Payroll
8.5
419
|
Verified
7.7
13
|
Verified
8.2
412
|
Verified
6.8
10
8.3
441
|
Verified
7.2
13
|
Verified
8.4
489
|
Verified
7.9
17
|
Verified
AI
7.4
65
Not enough data
7.5
66
Not enough data
7.6
65
Not enough data
7.1
64
Not enough data
7.6
66
Not enough data
6.7
65
Not enough data
8.0
69
Not enough data
7.7
67
Not enough data
7.3
65
Not enough data
7.0
66
Not enough data
Mobile Applications - Accounting
8.2
13
Not enough data
7.3
13
Not enough data
7.7
13
Not enough data
6.2
13
Not enough data
8.5
13
Not enough data
8.7
13
Not enough data
General Ledger
8.0
780
8.0
45
|
Verified
7.9
1215
|
Verified
7.9
36
|
Verified
8.1
1321
|
Verified
7.6
35
|
Verified
Accounts Receivable
8.1
1470
|
Verified
8.7
63
8.0
1184
|
Verified
8.2
44
|
Verified
7.7
1017
|
Verified
8.1
38
|
Verified
Accounts Payable
7.6
609
7.8
27
8.3
1334
|
Verified
8.2
42
|
Verified
8.1
1003
|
Verified
7.2
23
|
Verified
Multichannel inventory management
8.6
74
Not enough data
8.6
75
Not enough data
8.6
71
Not enough data
3PL inventory management
8.9
87
Not enough data
8.8
77
Not enough data
8.6
79
Not enough data
Inventory Management
9.0
85
Not enough data
9.0
84
Not enough data
8.8
80
Not enough data
8.8
80
Not enough data
8.8
87
Not enough data
Inventory Management Platform Features
8.9
106
Not enough data
8.9
103
Not enough data
8.7
105
Not enough data
8.5
96
Not enough data
8.2
99
Not enough data
8.9
92
Not enough data
8.4
98
Not enough data
8.7
100
Not enough data
8.9
103
Not enough data
8.8
107
Not enough data
Order Entry
8.8
100
Not enough data
9.1
94
Not enough data
8.7
98
Not enough data
Order Tracking
8.3
83
Not enough data
8.3
85
Not enough data
8.3
80
Not enough data
Inventory Management
8.5
82
Not enough data
8.3
80
Not enough data
8.3
76
Not enough data
Customer Management
8.6
84
Not enough data
8.6
92
Not enough data
8.6
94
Not enough data
Subscription Management
8.8
97
Not enough data
8.5
92
Not enough data
8.7
99
Not enough data
8.6
88
Not enough data
Bill Generation
Not enough data
8.1
30
Not enough data
8.5
33
Not enough data
8.3
29
Bill Processing
Not enough data
7.9
21
Not enough data
8.1
19
Not enough data
8.3
31
Integration
Not enough data
8.2
30
Not enough data
8.4
27
Not enough data
7.4
14
Revenue Recognition
8.6
125
Not enough data
8.4
133
Not enough data
8.5
141
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
QuickBooks Online and Wave are categorized as Accounting
Unique Categories
QuickBooks Online is categorized as Nonprofit Accounting, Vendor Management, Inventory Control, and Order Management
Wave is categorized as Billing
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
QuickBooks Online
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Wave
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Accounting
16.7%
Marketing and Advertising
5.4%
Construction
5.1%
Non-Profit Organization Management
4.5%
Information Technology and Services
4.4%
Other
64.0%
Marketing and Advertising
16.1%
Information Technology and Services
6.3%
Design
4.9%
Accounting
4.9%
Computer Software
3.5%
Other
64.3%
Most Helpful Reviews
QuickBooks Online
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Verified User in Computer Software
The cloud deployment of QB online allowed me as a business user to start implementing on a weekend with no IT support required. I was able to load our chart of accounts and set up the integrations to our bank and credit card accounts immediately. In...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Kim E.
Verified User in Internet
Everything else is a nightmare. The navigation is not intuitive at all especially if you are a seasoned Quickbooks user, a financial professional. Many of the short-cuts I used to use when doing my data entry now do not work since QB now creates a large...
Wave
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Mark T.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
I love the simplicity of it! So easy to set up and start using. Paystubs and invoices are auto-filled for your convenience as well. What's neat is that you can also switch accounts to manage the accounting of multiple businesses. Best of all everything is...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Ian S.
Verified User in Internet
I absolutely detest that if a customer overpays an invoice, it doesn't really keep track automatically and apply the overpayment to the next invoice that the customer receives. There are workarounds for some things, but these are not always very handy....
Verified User in Computer Software
The cloud deployment of QB online allowed me as a business user to start implementing on a weekend with no IT support required. I was able to load our chart of accounts and set up the integrations to our bank and credit card accounts immediately. In...
Mark T.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services
I love the simplicity of it! So easy to set up and start using. Paystubs and invoices are auto-filled for your convenience as well. What's neat is that you can also switch accounts to manage the accounting of multiple businesses. Best of all everything is...
Kim E.
Verified User in Internet
Everything else is a nightmare. The navigation is not intuitive at all especially if you are a seasoned Quickbooks user, a financial professional. Many of the short-cuts I used to use when doing my data entry now do not work since QB now creates a large...
Ian S.
Verified User in Internet
I absolutely detest that if a customer overpays an invoice, it doesn't really keep track automatically and apply the overpayment to the next invoice that the customer receives. There are workarounds for some things, but these are not always very handy....
Discussions
What phone app works if you are using Quick books V15.0.5R6
7 comments
JH
You are correct, you can only use the Invoicing app if you have the online version of Quickbooks. Hope this helps!Read more
What can you do with QuickBooks online?
3 comments
CV
It would be great to see QBO have the ability to send monthly statements via email, not the generic intuit email, but a selectable email that is by the...Read more
Is wave a good accounting software?
2 comments
MM
Yeah. It has most of the features required by a small business. You can request the team if you need anything in particular Read more
What is Wave Software?
2 comments
MM
Wave software is an easy to use Payroll and Accounting software. You can create invoices, send billings, track expenses, and all normal transactions...Read more
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