Xero vs Wave Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
Early
- Send quotes and 20 invoices†
- Accept online invoice payments^
- 5 bills
- Reconcile bank transactions
- Smart Document Capture
- View real-time reports
- W-9 + 1099 management
- Sales tax
- Visualize performance with basic graphs
- 30 day cash flow forecast
- Make online bill payments (Domestic - Free ACH)
- Make online bill payments (Cross Border)
Growing
- Send invoices and quotes
- Accept online invoice payments^
- Automate bill entry and track bills
- Auto-reconcile bank transactions (Beta)
- Smart Document Capture
- View real-time reports
- W-9 + 1099 management
- Sales tax
- Visualize performance with graphs
- 60 day cash flow forecast
- Make online bill payments (Domestic - Free ACH)
- Make online bill payments (Cross Border)
- Customize performance dashboards
- Tailored financial health scorecards
Established
Popular- Send invoices and quotes
- Accept online invoice payments^
- Automate bill entry and track bills
- Auto-reconcile bank transactions (Beta)
- Smart Document Capture
- View real-time reports
- W-9 + 1099 management
- Sales tax
- Visualize performance with graphs
- 180 day cash flow forecast
- Make online bill payments (Domestic - Free ACH)
- Make online bill payments (Cross Border)
- Customize performance dashboards
- Tailored financial health scorecards
- Analyze KPIs and ratios
- Use multiple currencies
- Track time and costs for projects
- Employee expense and mileage claims
- Benchmark against the industry
- Make online bill payments (International)
STARTER Plan
- Create unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records
- Option to accept online payments 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction 3.4% + $0.60 per Amex transaction
- Invoice on-the-go with the mobile app
- Manage cash flow and customers in one dashboard
Pro Plan
Popular- Option to accept online payments at a discounted rate 2.9% + $0** per credit card transaction 3.4% + $0** per Amex transaction
- Auto-import bank transactions***
- Auto-merge and categorize bank transactions
- Digitally capture unlimited receipts and track expenses
- Automate late payment reminders
- And more!
Xero vs Wave FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Wave is the cheaper option, starting at $19/mo vs $25/mo for Xero.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Wave has a free plan. Xero doesn't — though they do offer a free trial.
- How do they charge?
- Both use a flat-rate model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Xero: At $25–$90/mo, Xero sits in the same ballpark as QuickBooks Online but positions slightly more premium on the low end while staying competitive at the top. They're clearly targeting small-to-mid businesses that have outgrown spreadsheets and want a polished, accountant-friendly platform — not the budget-first crowd. Wave: Wave is firmly the budget-friendly play in small business accounting — going up against QuickBooks Simple Start (~$35/mo) and FreshBooks (~$19/mo), they're competitive on price but lead with the free tier as the real hook. They're targeting bootstrapped founders and solopreneurs who flinch at $50+/mo tools.
Keep tabs on both.
We'll monitor pricing changes for Xero and Wave and let you know when something moves.