Professional Services · alternatives
Alternatives to Wave
20 professional services tools sit alongside Wave in this directory. Below is what separates each from Wave on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 9
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Wave starts at
- Free
Why people look past Wave
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Wave has a free tier, and starts at Free against a category median of $18/month. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
All-in-one business management for freelancers and agencies
- Starts $9 a user/month dearer, at $9/user/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
- 4 tiers to Wave's 3.
Find the best freelancers for any job online
- Sold on a transaction model rather than freemium.
Find freelancers, find a job
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
- 5 tiers to Wave's 3.
Simple, all-in-one invoicing and billing software
- 4 tiers to Wave's 3.
Time tracking that's easy, powerful, and frictionless
- Starts $9 a month dearer, at $9/month.
Projects, timesheets, invoices done right
- Starts $11.95 a month dearer, at $11.95/month.
- 4 tiers to Wave's 3.
Every Wave alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave (this page) | Free | Freemium | 3 | |
| BonsaiAll-in-one business management for freelancers and agencies | Free, then $9/user/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Wave |
| Freelancer.comFind the best freelancers for any job online | Free | Transaction | - | vs Wave |
| GuruFind freelancers, find a job | Free | Subscription | 5 | vs Wave |
| HiveageSimple, all-in-one invoicing and billing software | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs Wave |
| Toggl Track | Free, then $9/month | - | 3 | vs Wave |
| Avaza | Free, then $11.95/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Wave |
| Teamwork | Free | Subscription | 5 | vs Wave |
| Harvest | Free, then $9/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Wave |
| FreshBooks | Free, then $23/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Wave |
| Certinia PSA | On request | Quote | - | vs Wave |
| Scoro | $17/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Wave |
| Netsuite OpenAir | $500/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Wave |
| TravelPerk | Free | Usage-based | - | vs Wave |
| Kantata | On request | Quote | - | vs Wave |
| Productive | $10/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Wave |
| Plutio | $19/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Wave |
| Function Point | $53/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Wave |
| Accelo | On request | Quote | - | vs Wave |
| BigTime | $20/user/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Wave |
| PracticePanther | $49/month | Subscription | 8 | vs Wave |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Wave badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (9)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Bonsai , Free, then $9/user/month
- Freelancer.com , Free
- Guru , Free
- Hiveage , Free
- Toggl Track , Free, then $9/month
- Avaza , Free, then $11.95/month
- Teamwork , Free
- Harvest , Free, then $9/month
What you would be giving up
Wave is most often brought in for invoicing and bookkeeping for very small businesses and freelancers, accepting card payments against issued invoices. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Wave is broadly right and the question is cost, the Wave pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Professional Services category lists everything the directory holds, and best professional services tools ranks them.
Wave runs on web, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Wave alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Wave?
- 20 other professional services tools are listed in this directory, led by Bonsai, Freelancer.com, Guru, Hiveage. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Wave?
- 9 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Bonsai, Freelancer.com, Guru, Hiveage, Toggl Track.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Wave?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Wave has a free tier, and starts at Free against a category median of $18/month. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Wave?
- Wave is most often brought in for invoicing and bookkeeping for very small businesses and freelancers, accepting card payments against issued invoices. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Wave?
- None of the professional services tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Wave alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Professional Services, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Wave against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Wave covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every professional services tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Professional Services category, 20 tools beside Wave. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.