FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online vs Wave

Written head to head: QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks · Wave vs QuickBooks Online, with when to choose each side.

Compared on	FreshBooks Free trial · from $20.70/mo VisitRemove	QuickBooks Online Free plan · from $38/mo VisitRemove	Wave Free plan · from $15.83/mo VisitRemove
What it is	Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses, priced by number of billable clients	Intuit's cloud accounting for US small businesses, from a free tier to plans with AI bookkeeping	Free invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping for small businesses, with a $19 Pro plan for bank sync
Free plan	No	1 user, no accountant access, up to 2 invoices a month (unlimited if you qualify for and enable QuickBooks Payments), the top 3 reports (profit and loss, balance sheet, account quick report), 1 bank connection, chat support. No credit card required. Mobile app access and third-party integrations are not available on Free.	Starter: unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records; mobile invoicing; optional online payments at 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex). No automatic bank import or auto-categorisation; receipt capture is an $8/month add-on; collaborators limited to payroll manager or Block Advisors tax pro access.
Cheapest paid plan	$20.70/mo billed annually (Lite)FreshBooks pricing	$38/mo (Simple Start)QuickBooks Online pricing	$15.83/mo billed annually (Pro)Wave pricing
What it covers	Invoice up to 5 billable clients; extra team members $11/month each; $248.40 billed yearly. Promotion: 80% off ($4.60/month) for the first 4 months.	1 user plus access for 2 accountants. Promotion: 50% off ($19/month) for the first 3 months. No annual contract; the pricing page shows no annual price.	Per business; $190 billed yearly. Card fees drop to 2.9% + $0 on the first 10 transactions each month. Canadian price CA$25/month or CA$250/year.
Free trial	30-day free trial, no credit card required	30-day free trial, shown alongside the 50%-off offer on the pricing page	None stated
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations (vendor's figure)	100+ apps in the FreshBooks AppStore	800+ integrations	Not stated
Open source	No	No	No
Good for	Freelancers and consultants who bill a small number of clients Service businesses that invoice for tracked time and project work Owners who want their accountant working in the same books	US small businesses that want accounting, invoicing and payroll from one vendor Sole owners starting on a free plan with a few invoices a month Growing teams that need inventory, project profitability and up to 25 users	Freelancers and sole owners who want free invoicing and bookkeeping Small businesses in the US or Canada that invoice often on a small budget Owners who want a bookkeeper to keep the books for them
Watch out for	Lite invoices only 5 clients and Plus 50; unlimited clients need Premium ($70/mo) Each team member costs $11 a month on top of the plan Bank reconciliation, receipt scanning and accountant access are not on Lite	Free plan: 1 user, 2 invoices a month unless QuickBooks Payments is enabled, 1 bank connection, no mobile app or third-party integrations User caps: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced Inventory, budgets and project profitability need Plus ($140/mo); workflow automation and custom permissions need Advanced ($340/mo)	Automatic bank imports and transaction categorisation need the Pro plan Receipt capture costs $8 a month on the free plan Its pages do not describe AI features, multi-currency or inventory tracking
Made by	2NDSITE Inc.	Intuit Inc.	Wave Financial Inc.

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

Every tool in accounting and invoicing software is on its category page, with the written head-to-heads on Compare.