[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":431},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Fcompare\u002Fvs-wave":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"competitor":38,"date":419,"description":420,"extension":421,"logo":422,"meta":423,"navigation":424,"path":425,"pricingChecked":426,"seo":427,"stem":428,"updated":429,"__hash__":430},"comparisons\u002Fcompare\u002Fvs-wave.md","Billebly vs Wave: which is right for freelancers?",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":398},"minimark",[9,13,16,21,129,133,136,139,143,146,150,153,156,159,163,279,287,291,294,305,308,311,315,318,321,325,328,332,335,338,342,345,349,352,356,359,363,366,370,373,377,380,384,388,391],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Wave is a free accounting platform (owned by H&R Block) built around\ndouble-entry bookkeeping, with invoicing as one part of a larger suite\nthat also covers receipt scanning, payroll, and financial reporting.\nBillebly focuses narrowly on clients, invoices, time tracking, and\npayment status, without the accounting layer underneath. This comparison\nis for freelancers deciding whether they actually need real bookkeeping\nalongside invoicing, or just a fast, focused way to bill and get paid.",[10,14,15],{},"The headline difference: Wave is built to produce real financial\nstatements a bookkeeper or accountant would recognize. Billebly is built\nto answer a narrower, more immediate question: who owes you money, and\nhave they paid.",[17,18,20],"h2",{"id":19},"quick-comparison","Quick comparison",[22,23,24,39],"table",{},[25,26,27],"thead",{},[28,29,30,33,36],"tr",{},[31,32],"th",{},[31,34,35],{},"Billebly",[31,37,38],{},"Wave",[40,41,42,54,65,76,87,97,107,118],"tbody",{},[28,43,44,48,51],{},[45,46,47],"td",{},"Starting price",[45,49,50],{},"Free",[45,52,53],{},"Free (Starter), optional Pro plan $19\u002Fmo",[28,55,56,59,62],{},[45,57,58],{},"Pricing model",[45,60,61],{},"Free plan with no subscription and a 0.5% fee on payments processed; optional Premium at €9\u002Fmonth (0.2% fee)",[45,63,64],{},"Free core + optional subscription, plus payment processing fees",[28,66,67,70,73],{},[45,68,69],{},"Double-entry bookkeeping",[45,71,72],{},"No",[45,74,75],{},"Yes, core feature",[28,77,78,81,84],{},[45,79,80],{},"Time tracking",[45,82,83],{},"Yes, feeds invoices directly",[45,85,86],{},"Not available",[28,88,89,92,94],{},[45,90,91],{},"Receipt scanning",[45,93,72],{},[45,95,96],{},"Yes, as a paid add-on on either plan",[28,98,99,102,104],{},[45,100,101],{},"Payroll",[45,103,72],{},[45,105,106],{},"Yes, paid add-on (US\u002FCanada only)",[28,108,109,112,115],{},[45,110,111],{},"Country focus",[45,113,114],{},"No restriction",[45,116,117],{},"Strongest in US\u002FCanada",[28,119,120,123,126],{},[45,121,122],{},"Best for",[45,124,125],{},"Just invoicing, time tracking, and getting paid",[45,127,128],{},"Real bookkeeping and financial statements alongside invoicing",[17,130,132],{"id":131},"what-is-wave","What is Wave?",[10,134,135],{},"Wave (waveapps.com) is a free accounting platform built primarily for\nsmall businesses and freelancers in the US and Canada, with invoicing as\none part of a larger accounting suite: double-entry bookkeeping, a chart\nof accounts, receipt scanning through its mobile app, bank connections,\nand financial reports like profit and loss statements and balance\nsheets. The core accounting and invoicing tools are free to use on the\nStarter plan, with no usage limits. Wave also offers an optional Pro plan\nat $19\u002Fmonth ($190 billed annually) with somewhat lower card-processing\ncosts, and receipt capture is a paid add-on on either plan.",[10,137,138],{},"Wave's payment processing (Wave Payments) and payroll (Wave Payroll, US\nand Canada only) are separate paid add-ons layered on top of the free\naccounting core, charged per transaction or per month respectively. Wave\nhas no native time tracking, and support is largely self-serve (email\nand help center), with paid bookkeeping coaching available separately\nthrough Wave Advisors for anyone who wants hands-on help with the books.",[17,140,142],{"id":141},"what-is-billebly","What is Billebly?",[10,144,145],{},"Billebly is a free invoicing and payments tool for freelancers, coaches,\nand consultants, built around the part of the job that actually\ndetermines whether you get paid: a client list, one-off and recurring\ninvoices, time tracking that becomes invoice line items automatically,\nand a dashboard showing paid, pending, and overdue amounts. It's built to\nanswer one question quickly, who owes you money and have they paid,\nrather than to double as a bookkeeping system. That focus means there's\nno chart of accounts, journal entries, or financial statements to\nmaintain, which is a deliberate choice, not a missing checkbox: it keeps\nthe product simple for the freelancers, coaches, and consultants it's\nbuilt for.",[17,147,149],{"id":148},"billebly-vs-wave-key-differences","Billebly vs Wave: key differences",[10,151,152],{},"The fundamental difference is depth of financial record-keeping. Wave is\nbuilt to produce real financial statements, including a balance sheet\nand profit and loss report, the kind of output an accountant or a tax\nauthority might actually want to see. Billebly produces a payment status\ndashboard: what's paid, what's outstanding, what's overdue. That's useful\nfor knowing where you stand with clients, but it isn't bookkeeping.",[10,154,155],{},"Billebly skips the accounting layer entirely: it's built for the moment\nwork turns into an invoice and gets paid, not for reconciling a ledger or\ngenerating a balance sheet. That leaves general ledger accounting to Wave\nand dedicated bookkeeping software, and keeps Billebly free and fast for\nthe billing job it does cover.",[10,157,158],{},"The other clear difference is time tracking. Wave has no native\ntime-tracking feature at all, so hourly billing that depends on logged\nhours needs a separate tool feeding into Wave's invoices. Billebly builds\nthat connection in directly: hours logged against a client pull straight\nonto an invoice as billable line items.",[17,160,162],{"id":161},"features-comparison","Features comparison",[22,164,165,176],{},[25,166,167],{},[28,168,169,172,174],{},[31,170,171],{},"Feature",[31,173,35],{},[31,175,38],{},[40,177,178,189,198,207,216,224,233,242,250,260,269],{},[28,179,180,183,186],{},[45,181,182],{},"Client & prospect tracking",[45,184,185],{},"Basic client list",[45,187,188],{},"Yes",[28,190,191,194,196],{},[45,192,193],{},"One-off invoices",[45,195,188],{},[45,197,188],{},[28,199,200,203,205],{},[45,201,202],{},"Recurring \u002F subscription billing",[45,204,188],{},[45,206,188],{},[28,208,209,212,214],{},[45,210,211],{},"Time tracking → invoice line items",[45,213,188],{},[45,215,86],{},[28,217,218,220,222],{},[45,219,69],{},[45,221,72],{},[45,223,75],{},[28,225,226,228,230],{},[45,227,91],{},[45,229,72],{},[45,231,232],{},"Yes, paid add-on on either plan",[28,234,235,238,240],{},[45,236,237],{},"Financial reports (P&L, balance sheet)",[45,239,72],{},[45,241,188],{},[28,243,244,246,248],{},[45,245,101],{},[45,247,72],{},[45,249,106],{},[28,251,252,255,258],{},[45,253,254],{},"Client portal",[45,256,257],{},"Payment link, no login",[45,259,257],{},[28,261,262,265,267],{},[45,263,264],{},"Bank connections for reconciliation",[45,266,72],{},[45,268,188],{},[28,270,271,274,276],{},[45,272,273],{},"Bookkeeping coaching",[45,275,72],{},[45,277,278],{},"Yes, paid (Wave Advisors)",[280,281,284],"callout",{"title":282,"type":283},"When Wave's accounting depth is actually worth it","tip",[10,285,286],{},"If you're managing real books, want a chart of accounts and financial\nstatements ready for tax time, or need payroll for a US or Canadian\nbusiness, Wave's free accounting core (or its Pro plan) covers that\nground well. It's a specific, broader need though: most freelancers,\ncoaches, and consultants just want to know who owes them money and get\npaid quickly, and that's exactly what Billebly is built for, with time\ntracking built in that Wave doesn't offer at all.",[17,288,290],{"id":289},"pricing-comparison","Pricing comparison",[10,292,293],{},"Wave: the Starter plan is free for core invoicing and accounting, with no\nusage limits. An optional Pro plan costs $19\u002Fmonth or $190\u002Fyear and\nlowers card-processing costs slightly. Receipt capture is a paid add-on\non either plan ($11\u002Fmonth on Starter, $8\u002Fmonth on Pro), and payroll (Wave\nPayroll, US\u002FCanada only) starts at $25\u002Fmonth. Payment processing (Wave\nPayments) is charged per transaction on top of either plan.",[10,295,296,297,304],{},"Source: ",[298,299,303],"a",{"href":300,"rel":301},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.waveapps.com\u002Fpricing",[302],"nofollow","Wave's pricing page",".",[10,306,307],{},"Billebly: free plan, no subscription. A 0.5% platform fee on payments\nactually processed, plus Stripe's standard processing rate (roughly 1.5% +\n€0.25 for cards, less for bank methods). No monthly minimum, no seat fee,\nand no country restriction. An optional Premium plan costs €9\u002Fmonth (excl.\nVAT) and lowers the platform fee to 0.2%.",[10,309,310],{},"Both tools are free at the core, which makes the comparison less about\ncost and more about scope. Wave's free tier is free because the paid\nadd-ons (payments, payroll, receipt capture, and the Pro plan) are where\nit makes money.\nBillebly's free plan stays free because cost only shows up on payments\nactually processed, and it isn't trying to sell bookkeeping or payroll\nsoftware in the first place.",[17,312,314],{"id":313},"invoicing-and-billing","Invoicing and billing",[10,316,317],{},"Both support one-off and recurring invoices. Wave adds automatic payment\nreminders and, since invoices post directly into its double-entry ledger,\nrevenue tracking that's automatically accurate for tax prep. Billebly's\nrecurring invoices charge automatically until manually stopped, with an\nalert if a payment fails, and its quotes feature lets a client accept a\nquote that converts directly into an invoice, without a full accounting\nsystem underneath it.",[10,319,320],{},"Where Wave pulls ahead: invoices feed directly into real books, so\nyear-end tax prep and financial reporting are already done by the time\nyou need them. Where Billebly pulls ahead: time tracking built directly\ninto the invoice flow, which Wave doesn't offer, plus nothing to\nconfigure or pay extra for if all you need is the invoice-to-payment\npath.",[17,322,324],{"id":323},"payments","Payments",[10,326,327],{},"Wave Payments processes cards and bank payments at its own\nper-transaction rates (typically a percentage plus a fixed fee for\ncards, and a lower rate for bank payments), with somewhat lower rates\navailable on the Pro plan. Billebly processes through Stripe, with a 0.5%\nplatform fee (0.2% on Premium) plus Stripe's rate, supporting cards,\niDEAL, SEPA, Klarna, Amazon Pay, and bank transfers depending on the client's\nlocation. Wave's payment infrastructure is strongest for US and Canadian\nbusinesses; Billebly's Stripe-based processing gives it broader payment\nmethod coverage for clients outside North America.",[17,329,331],{"id":330},"ease-of-use","Ease of use",[10,333,334],{},"Reviewers are generally consistent that Wave's core invoicing and\nreceipt scanning are approachable for non-accountants, even though real\nbookkeeping sits underneath. That said, getting the most out of Wave (a\nclean chart of accounts, accurate categorization, useful reports)\nbenefits from at least some basic accounting knowledge, which is part of\nwhy Wave Advisors exists as a paid coaching add-on. Support is largely\nself-serve, without a dedicated phone line.",[10,336,337],{},"Billebly has no comparable accounting layer to grow into: add a client,\nbuild an invoice, send a link, check the dashboard, with no chart of\naccounts or bookkeeping concepts to learn along the way.",[17,339,341],{"id":340},"which-is-better-for-freelancers","Which is better for freelancers?",[10,343,344],{},"A freelancer who wants real books, whether because they're managing\nmeaningful revenue, working with an accountant, or simply want accurate\nfinancial statements ready at tax time, is well served by Wave's free\naccounting core. A freelancer, coach, or consultant who just wants to\ninvoice, get paid, and see a clear picture of what's owed, without\nlearning accounting concepts or configuring a ledger, will find Billebly\ncloser to what they actually need, especially if hourly time tracking\nmatters to how they bill.",[17,346,348],{"id":347},"which-is-better-for-small-businesses","Which is better for small businesses?",[10,350,351],{},"A small US or Canadian business that wants bookkeeping, payroll, and\nfinancial reporting in one free platform is well served by Wave,\nparticularly once volume justifies the Pro plan or payroll add-on.\nBillebly is built for a single operator by design, with a client list and\ninvoice-and-payment workflow sized for one person's client roster rather\nthan payroll or multi-employee accounting. For a freelancer, coach, or\none-person consultancy, that focus is exactly the point: no ledger to\nreconcile, no payroll to configure, just billing that works for one\nperson.",[17,353,355],{"id":354},"who-should-choose-wave","Who should choose Wave?",[10,357,358],{},"A freelancer or small business, particularly in the US or Canada, that\nwants genuine double-entry bookkeeping (a chart of accounts, financial\nstatements, and optionally payroll) bundled with invoicing, and doesn't\nneed time tracking built in.",[17,360,362],{"id":361},"who-should-choose-billebly","Who should choose Billebly?",[10,364,365],{},"A freelancer, coach, or consultant who doesn't need a general ledger and\njust wants clients, invoices, time tracking, and payment status handled\nsimply, with no country restriction and no accounting concepts to learn\nalong the way.",[17,367,369],{"id":368},"is-billebly-a-good-wave-alternative","Is Billebly a good Wave alternative?",[10,371,372],{},"For bookkeeping, no: real double-entry accounting and financial\nstatements are Wave's core purpose, and Billebly doesn't attempt them at\nany level. For invoicing, time tracking, and payment collection, yes,\nand often a better direct fit, since Wave has no time tracking at all and\nits accounting depth goes unused by anyone who just needs to bill and get\npaid. Someone using Wave purely to send invoices, without touching the\nbookkeeping or reports, is a good candidate to try Billebly for that\nnarrower job. Someone relying on Wave's ledger, financial statements, or\npayroll should stay with Wave.",[17,374,376],{"id":375},"wave-alternatives","Wave alternatives",[10,378,379],{},"Within free and budget accounting software, Wave competes with tools like\nAkaunting, Frappe Books, and, among more established mainstream options,\nQuickBooks Online and Xero. Each trades off self-hosting, accounting\ndepth, and price differently. If real bookkeeping is the actual goal,\nthose are the right comparison set. If the appeal was mainly \"free\ninvoicing,\" but daily use is closer to \"invoice, log time, and get paid\"\nwithout ever touching a chart of accounts, Billebly is worth trying\nalongside or instead of Wave's full accounting suite.",[381,382],"faq-block",{":faqs":383},"[{\"question\":\"Is Wave really free?\",\"answer\":\"The core invoicing and accounting tools are free on the Starter plan, with no usage limits. An optional Pro plan costs $19\u002Fmonth ($190\u002Fyear), and receipt capture is a paid add-on on either plan. Payment processing and payroll are separate paid add-ons on top of either plan.\"},{\"question\":\"Does Wave have time tracking?\",\"answer\":\"No, Wave has no native time-tracking feature, so hourly billing that depends on logged hours needs a separate tool feeding into Wave's invoices. Billebly builds this in directly: logged hours become invoice line items automatically.\"},{\"question\":\"Is Wave available outside the US and Canada?\",\"answer\":\"Wave's invoicing can be used more broadly, but its strongest features, including payroll and some banking integrations, are focused on the US and Canada. Billebly has no country restriction and supports a wider range of local payment methods through Stripe.\"},{\"question\":\"Does Billebly have double-entry bookkeeping?\",\"answer\":\"No, Billebly focuses on a payment status dashboard (paid, pending, overdue) instead of a chart of accounts or financial statement reporting. That keeps it fast and simple for freelancers who mainly need to know who owes them money; pair it with an accountant or Wave-style software if you need financial statements too.\"},{\"question\":\"Does Billebly charge for payment processing like Wave does?\",\"answer\":\"Billebly charges a 0.5% platform fee on payments actually processed (0.2% on its optional Premium plan, €9\u002Fmonth excl. VAT), plus Stripe's standard processing rate. Wave Payments charges its own per-transaction rate, with somewhat lower rates available on Wave's Pro plan.\"}]",[17,385,387],{"id":386},"final-verdict","Final verdict",[10,389,390],{},"For most freelancers, coaches, and consultants, the actual daily need is\nsending invoices, tracking hours, and getting paid, not maintaining a\nchart of accounts, and Billebly does that job for free, with time\ntracking built in that Wave doesn't offer at all. If you need real\nbookkeeping, including financial statements and, for US and Canadian\nbusinesses, payroll, Wave's free accounting core (or its Pro plan) is a\ngenuinely strong choice and worth using for that purpose. Most other\nfreelancers, especially those who bill hourly or operate outside the\nUS\u002FCanada, are better served starting with Billebly's simpler, free\nworkflow and adding accounting software only once real bookkeeping needs\nshow up.",[392,393],"cta-banner",{"button-label":394,"description":395,"href":396,"title":397},"Start for free","Billebly skips the accounting layer entirely: add a client, log time, send an invoice, and track what's paid.","https:\u002F\u002Fapp.billebly.com\u002Fregister","Don't need a general ledger, just invoices that get paid?",{"title":399,"searchDepth":400,"depth":401,"links":402},"",2,3,[403,404,405,406,407,408,409,410,411,412,413,414,415,416,417,418],{"id":19,"depth":400,"text":20},{"id":131,"depth":400,"text":132},{"id":141,"depth":400,"text":142},{"id":148,"depth":400,"text":149},{"id":161,"depth":400,"text":162},{"id":289,"depth":400,"text":290},{"id":313,"depth":400,"text":314},{"id":323,"depth":400,"text":324},{"id":330,"depth":400,"text":331},{"id":340,"depth":400,"text":341},{"id":347,"depth":400,"text":348},{"id":354,"depth":400,"text":355},{"id":361,"depth":400,"text":362},{"id":368,"depth":400,"text":369},{"id":375,"depth":400,"text":376},{"id":386,"depth":400,"text":387},"2026-03-02","A comparison of Billebly and Wave for freelancers who need invoicing and payments without full double-entry accounting.","md","\u002Fimages\u002Fcompare\u002Fwave.png",{},true,"\u002Fcompare\u002Fvs-wave","2026-09",{"title":5,"description":420},"compare\u002Fvs-wave","2026-09-28","1qX_bT7Ehm0Icw0jX6yuRUS18FQJqW_uvlLPX0zyc0M",1792840629106]