Software · head to head
Hiveage vs Wave
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Hiveage free plan caps at 5 clients; scaling past 1,000 clients on the $42/month Plus tier requires contacting sales for a custom plan; Wave automatic bank transaction import and receipt scanning require the Pro plan at $19 a month
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Hiveage and Wave actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Hiveage
Nothing recorded that Wave does not also cover.
Only in Wave
- Double-entry accounting
- Invoicing
- Expense tracking
- Financial reporting
- Bank reconciliation
- Receipt scanning
- Multi-currency
- Sales tax tracking
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Hiveage
No use cases recorded yet. See the Hiveage review.
Wave
- Invoicing and bookkeeping for very small businesses and freelancersnot Hiveage
- Accepting card payments against issued invoicesnot Hiveage
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Hiveage
- Free plan caps at 5 clients; scaling past 1,000 clients on the $42/month Plus tier requires contacting sales for a custom plan
Wave
- Automatic bank transaction import and receipt scanning require the Pro plan at $19 a month
- The free plan pays a $0.60 per transaction fee on card payments on top of 2.9%, which Pro waives only for the first 10 transactions a month
- Beyond 10 transactions a month the Pro plan pays the same per transaction fee as the free one
- Amex is charged at 3.4% rather than 2.9% on both plans
Pricing, plan by plan
Hiveage
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Hiveage review.
Wave
Free- AccountingFree
- Unlimited invoicing
- Expense tracking
- Financial reports
- Payments$undefined/transaction
- 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction
- Credit card processing
- Bank payments (1%)
- Payroll$35/month
- $35/month base + $6/employee
- Tax calculations
- Direct deposit
Which should you pick?
Choose Wave if
- You need double-entry accounting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want invoicing.
Questions people ask
- Is Hiveage or Wave better?
- Neither clearly leads. Hiveage starts at Free and Wave at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Hiveage or Wave?
- Hiveage starts at Free and Wave at Free.
- Does Hiveage or Wave run on more platforms?
- Hiveage runs on Web. Wave runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Hiveage for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What can Hiveage do that Wave cannot?
- Wave covers Double-entry accounting, Invoicing, Expense tracking, Financial reporting.