Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Sage 50 vs Wave

Sage 50 logo

Sage 50

Accounting & Finance

Powerful desktop accounting for small businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wave logo

Wave

Freelancers

Financial software for small businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Wave has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Sage 50 sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams; Wave automatic bank transaction import and receipt scanning require the Pro plan at $19 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Sage 50 covers General ledger, Wave covers Double-entry accounting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sage 50 and Wave actually diverge.

Attributes where Sage 50 and Wave differ
AttributeSage 50Wave
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindowsWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryAccounting & FinanceFreelancers
Founded19812010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Sage 50

  • General ledger
  • Inventory management
  • Job costing
  • Budgeting
  • Microsoft 365
  • Salesforce
  • Local encryption
  • Backup

Only in Wave

  • Double-entry accounting
  • Expense tracking
  • Financial reporting
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Receipt scanning
  • Multi-currency
  • Sales tax tracking
  • PayPal

Both cover

  • Invoicing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Sage 50

  • Desktop accountingnot Wave
  • Job costingnot Wave
  • Inventory trackingnot Wave

Wave

  • Invoicing and bookkeeping for very small businesses and freelancersnot Sage 50
  • Accepting card payments against issued invoicesnot Sage 50

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Sage 50

  • Sage 50 tiers as captured in 2022: Pro Accounting $595/year for 1 user, Premium Accounting $970/year for 1-5 users with multi-company support, Quantum Accounting $1,610/year for larger teams

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

Sage 50

$29/month
  • Pro Accounting$50/month
    • Core accounting
    • 1 user
    • Basic reports
  • Premium Accounting$85/month
    • 5 users
    • Job costing
    • Inventory

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 Sage 50 if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want inventory management.
Sage 50 review

Choose Wave if

  • You need double-entry accounting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Wave review

Questions people ask

Is Sage 50 or Wave better?
Neither clearly leads. Sage 50 starts at $29/month and Wave at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sage 50 or Wave?
Wave has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Sage 50 and Free for Wave.
Does Sage 50 or Wave run on more platforms?
Sage 50 runs on Windows. Wave runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Wave for free?
Yes. Wave has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sage 50 starts at $29/month.
What is Sage 50 best used for?
Sage 50 is most often used for desktop accounting, job costing, inventory tracking. Of those, desktop accounting and job costing are not what Wave is typically brought in for.
What can Sage 50 do that Wave cannot?
Sage 50 covers General ledger, Inventory management, Job costing, Budgeting. Wave covers Double-entry accounting, Expense tracking, Financial reporting, Bank reconciliation. Both handle Invoicing.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Sage 50

More on Wave

Keep looking

Other head to heads