FreeAgent vs Wave Comparison
Compare FreeAgent vs Wave features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
FreeAgent
6.4/10
FreeAgent is UK cloud accounting software for sole traders, limited companies, partnerships, and landlords. It covers invoicing, banking, payroll, and Making Tax Digital filing.
Wave
4.9/10
Wave is a free-to-start accounting, invoicing, payments and payroll tool for very small businesses and freelancers in the US and Canada.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.4/10 | 4.9/10 |
| Scalability | 3/10 | 2/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 3/10 |
| Compliance | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 3/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 3/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 4/10 | 3/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | £10/mo Landlord | $19/mo Pro |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | £10/mo Landlord | $19/mo Pro |
| Features | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Accountant Access | ||
| Financial Reporting | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Online Payments | ||
| Payroll | ||
| General Ledger | ||
| Tax Compliance | Not listed | |
| Multi-currency | Not listed | |
| Bank Reconciliation | ||
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
| Audit Trail | Not listed | |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose FreeAgent
- Higher Compliance score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 3/10)
Why choose Wave
- Has a free plan (FreeAgent does not)
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Pros & Cons
FreeAgent
Pros
- Free for customers with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank, or qualifying Mettle business account.
- Built-in HMRC filing covers MTD VAT, Self Assessment, and MTD for Income Tax, and the limited company plan adds end-of-year filing.
- Reviewers often praise its UK-based phone and chat support.
- Every plan includes time tracking, projects, and invoicing, which suits freelancers who bill by the hour.
- Multi-currency invoicing and foreign-currency bank accounts are supported, with realised and unrealised gains and losses calculated automatically.
Cons
- Reviewers describe invoice templates as basic and say custom reporting is limited.
- Payroll suits only director-only setups or very small teams.
- Its integration ecosystem is smaller than those of Xero or QuickBooks.
- It has no multi-entity consolidation or advanced controls, so it does not scale to larger firms.
- Some users report out-of-date help articles.
Wave
Pros
- The free Starter plan includes unlimited invoices, estimates and bookkeeping records.
- Pro is a flat $19 per business rather than per user.
- US payroll now includes tax filing in all 50 states at a single price.
- Pro waives the $0.60 card fee on the first 10 payments each month.
Cons
- Free users get only chatbot support, there is no phone support, and reviewers report slow responses even on paid plans.
- There is no inventory tracking, time tracking or audit trail.
- Reports can only be adjusted by date range and cash or accrual basis.
- Trustpilot reviewers describe payroll problems after Wave moved payroll processing to Check in mid-2025.
- Automatic bank feeds and extra users require the Pro plan.
