Wave vs Xero: free forever against unlimited users
Wave costs nothing and Xero starts at $25 a month. The decision is not price, it is scope: Wave has no inventory and no multi-currency, and Xero caps its cheapest plan at 20 invoices.
Verdict
Wave is free and Xero starts at $25 a month, but the real split is scope. Wave has no inventory and no multi-currency. Xero caps its cheapest plan at 20 invoices. Unlimited users is the Xero edge.
At a glance
| Criterion | WaveBest free option | XeroBest for a team |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0, permanently | About $25/mo, $27 from October |
| Users included | Unlimited | Unlimited on every tier |
| Invoices on the entry plan | Unlimited | 20 a month on Early |
| Bank transaction import | Pro plan, $19/mo | Included from Early |
| Inventory tracking | No | Yes |
| Multi-currency | No | On higher tiers |
| Card payment fee | 2.9% + $0.60 | Set by your payment provider |
| Full review | Read the Wave review | Read the Xero review |
What the winner gets right, and where it falls short
What works
- Wave removes the subscription decision entirely for a service business with simple books
- Unlimited users on Xero means the headline price is the whole team price, not a per-seat starting point
- Both handle proper double-entry bookkeeping, so an accountant can work from either
What does not
- The Xero Early plan 20-invoice cap catches more businesses than people expect
- Wave has no inventory and no multi-currency, and neither is coming
- Xero raises every tier on 1 October 2026, so any quoted price needs rechecking
The short version#
This is not a price fight. Wave is free and Xero is not, and that gap never closes.
It is a scope decision:
Choose Wave if you invoice clients, in one currency, with no stock to track. It does that job completely, at zero, forever.
Choose Xero if more than one person works in the books, or you hold inventory, or you bill overseas clients in their currency.
Where the money actually goes#
$350 a month
What Wave takes on $10,000 of card-paid invoices
2.9 percent plus $0.60 a transaction. Free software, paid processing.
Wave being free is real, but it is not charity. Wave earns on payment processing.
If your clients pay by card, Wave collects 2.9 percent plus $0.60 per transaction. Invoice $10,000 a month that way and Wave earns roughly $350 from you, which is well above what Xero costs.
The fix is the same on either platform: make bank transfer the default option on your invoices rather than card. We work through that arithmetic in how to use Wave.
The Xero trap#
The Early plan caps you at 20 invoices a month.
That sounds generous until you count. A consultancy billing weekly across ten clients passes it in a fortnight. A trades business invoicing per job passes it in days.
The unlimited users point#
Unlimited
Users on every Xero plan, including the cheapest
Most rivals charge per seat. This is where Xero quietly wins on a team.
For a solo operator this is worth nothing at all.
For a team of four it can invert the whole comparison. One Xero subscription covers you, your business partner, your bookkeeper, and your accountant. On a per-seat rival that is four bills.
Wave also allows collaborators, so this point matters more against QuickBooks than against Wave. But it is the reason Xero is the tool people grow into rather than out of.
Two hard limits on Wave#
Neither has a workaround:
- No inventory tracking. Any product business needs something else.
- No multi-currency. Invoicing an overseas client in their currency is not possible.
Hit either and the free option stops being an option. That is the honest boundary.
Choosing in one line#
One person, one currency, no stock → Wave. Free is genuinely enough.
A team, or inventory, or overseas clients → Xero. The 20-invoice cap decides which tier.
Currently on QuickBooks after the August 2026 increase → price both. Our Wave vs QuickBooks comparison covers the free route, and the Xero review covers the like-for-like swap.
Tool by tool
Wave
Best free optionUnlimited invoicing and real double-entry bookkeeping at zero, with no expiry. The cost lands on card processing at 2.9 percent plus $0.60, not on a subscription line.
- Starting price
- Free, Pro $19/mo
- Best for
- A solo operator or small service business invoicing in one currency
Xero
Best for a teamEvery plan includes unlimited users, which no major rival offers. That single difference can invert the price comparison the moment you add a bookkeeper and an accountant.
- Starting price
- $25/mo, rising to $27 on 1 October 2026
- Best for
- A business where more than one person touches the books
Frequently asked questions
- Is Wave good enough instead of Xero?
- For a solo service business invoicing in one currency, yes. Wave does unlimited invoicing and full double-entry bookkeeping free, which covers the whole job. You outgrow it the moment you need inventory, multi-currency, or a team working in the books at the same time.
- Why is Xero more expensive than Wave?
- Because Xero sells a subscription and Wave sells payment processing. Wave makes its money on the 2.9 percent plus $0.60 it takes on card payments, which is why the software itself is free. On $10,000 of card-paid invoices a month, Wave earns about $350 from you.
- Does Xero really include unlimited users?
- Yes, on every tier including the cheapest. That is the single feature separating it from QuickBooks and most rivals, which charge per seat. For a team of four it can make Xero cheaper overall despite the higher headline price.
- Which is better for an accountant handover?
- Xero, by a margin, in most markets. Accountant familiarity is wider and you can grant direct access rather than exporting files. Wave books are perfectly valid double-entry records, but fewer accountants work in Wave day to day.
Written by
Tashawar Awais
Researcher and editor
Tashawar handles verification and editing. Every figure in a review is checked a second time before it goes out, and anything that cannot be traced to a vendor page or a documented source is either qualified or cut. Where pricing is genuinely unclear, as it is with Canva team plans or Close CRM tiers, the article says so and tells the reader to confirm directly instead of quoting a number with false confidence.
- Second check on every published figure
- Removes claims the sources do not support
- Flags pricing that changes without notice