On subscription price, Wave is cheaper than FreshBooks at every step on monthly billing, the basis both pages show: Wave Starter is free and Wave Pro is $19 a month, while FreshBooks starts at $23 a month for Lite. FreshBooks says late fees and unlimited time tracking are included with Lite, but Lite bills only five clients. Pick Wave for the lowest bill and FreshBooks Lite for built-in late fees and time tracking with five clients or fewer.
List prices in US dollars from each company’s pricing page, read November 2, 2026, excluding the limited-time discounts the pages may show (FreshBooks showed 80% off for four months). The FreshBooks page shows monthly prices only, so we compare on monthly billing. Prices change, so check both pages before you pay. This compares published plans and features; it is not a hands-on test.
Jump to prices, the Wave free plan, FreshBooks Lite, what your client sees, your books, the checklist or which to pick.
FreshBooks vs Wave pricing
| Plan | Monthly | A year, billed monthly | Clients you can bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave Starter | $0 | $0 | Not stated on the page, November 2, 2026 |
| Wave Pro | $19 | 12 x $19 (Wave’s page also shows $190 billed yearly) | Not stated on the page, November 2, 2026 |
| FreshBooks Lite | $23 | 12 x $23 | 5 |
| FreshBooks Plus | $43 | 12 x $43 | 50 |
| FreshBooks Premium | $70 | 12 x $70 | Unlimited |
FreshBooks charges $11 a month for each extra team member. FreshBooks has a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Wave Starter is listed at $0; Wave’s trial length and card wording are not stated on the page, November 2, 2026.
Prices move. Before you pay for a year, ask what the renewal price will be.
What the Wave free plan leaves out
Wave Starter lists “unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records”, an option to accept online payments and the mobile app.
Pro adds, per Wave’s plan cards:
- Bank import: transactions come in automatically and are merged and categorized.
- Receipt capture: unlimited receipts, with expenses tracked.
- Automatic late-payment reminders.
So automatic reminders, bank import and receipt capture are listed as Pro additions. If you send a few invoices a month and keep your own books, Starter may be fine.
What FreshBooks Lite includes
Lite’s plan card lists invoices for 5 clients, expense tracking, estimates, payments and tax-time reports. FreshBooks’ own page freshbooks.com/compare/freshbooks-vs-xero (read November 2, 2026) says “Late Fees - Included with FreshBooks Lite” and “Unlimited Time Tracking - Included with FreshBooks Lite”. The pricing page’s grid shows recurring invoices, automatic reminders, deposits, a client portal and bank import only as icons, so we do not place them on a plan: they are not confirmed on the page text, November 2, 2026. Check them in the 30-day trial.
The catch is the cap: Lite bills five clients, and the page says the limit counts both active and archived clients. Plus raises that to 50 and is where proposals, client retainers and accountant access start. For the full plan-by-plan picture, see our FreshBooks review.
What your client sees
Whichever tool you pick, your client opens an invoice page and pays. That page is your brand in front of a customer, so check how it looks in each tool before you commit: your logo and colors, or the tool’s. Open it on a phone, too.
Who keeps your books?
Wave and FreshBooks are both accounting tools first. They track income and expenses and hand that to a tax person. If your accountant wants a ledger, either one works. If you only need to send invoices, both are more than you need.
Plenty of freelancers pair an accounting tool with a client tool for proposals, contracts and the portal. That is a fair setup.
Check these before you pay
- How many clients you bill. Five on FreshBooks Lite is a hard cap, and Plus is $20 a month more.
- Whose brand is on the invoice: yours or the tool’s.
- Whether you can export your clients and invoices as a file.
- One real invoice, from draft to paid, before you move all your clients.
Which one should you pick?
| If you… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Want the lowest bill and are happy to do the bookkeeping | Wave |
| Want late fees and time tracking, five clients or fewer | FreshBooks Lite |
| Send proposals or run retainers and need accountant access | FreshBooks Plus |
| Want proposals, invoices, retainers and a portal in your own brand | Workspace369 |
Invoicing clients in Workspace369
Where Wave and FreshBooks start with the books, Workspace369 starts with the client side:
- One link for the client, with your logo, your colors, the amount due and a pay button. No account needed, and it reads clearly on a phone.
- One look everywhere. Pick it once, and it carries to every proposal and invoice your client opens.
- The whole client flow: proposals, invoices, recurring invoices, retainers, time tracking and a client portal, on every plan.
- Accounting as you grow. Expenses and basic accounting start on Specialist, and full accounting on Commander.
- Your data. Import clients, products, invoices and other data from CSV files.
Recurring invoices, retainers, time tracking, the client portal and branded pages are on every plan, from Cadet at $29 a month for 1 seat ($23.25 billed yearly). Cadet through Commander start with a 14-day free trial (card required). Workspace369 pricing
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave cheaper than FreshBooks?
Yes, at every step on list prices. Wave Starter is free and Wave Pro is $19 a month; FreshBooks Lite is $23, Plus $43 and Premium $70 (read November 2, 2026).
Is Wave really free?
Wave Starter costs nothing and lists unlimited invoices, estimates and bookkeeping records. Bank import, receipt capture and automatic reminders are listed as Pro additions.
How many clients can I bill on FreshBooks Lite?
Five, counting both active and archived clients. Plus bills 50 and Premium is listed as unlimited.
Does FreshBooks have a free trial?
Yes, 30 days, with no credit card required. Wave Starter is listed at $0; Wave’s trial length is not stated on the page, November 2, 2026.
Which is better for freelancers, FreshBooks or Wave?
Wave if the lowest bill matters most and you keep your own books. FreshBooks Lite if you want late fees and time tracking built in and bill five clients or fewer.
