Softwr

Software · head to head

Zoho Books vs Wave

Zoho Books logo

Zoho Books

Software

Simple, smart accounting software for growing businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wave logo

Wave

Software

Financial software for small businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Zoho Books payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness; Wave automatic bank transaction import and receipt scanning require the Pro plan at $19 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Zoho Books covers Financial reports, Wave covers Double-entry accounting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Zoho Books and Wave actually diverge.

Attributes where Zoho Books and Wave differ
AttributeZoho BooksWave
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Founded19962010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Zoho Books

  • Financial reports
  • Tax compliance
  • Zoho CRM
  • SOC 2
  • GDPR

Only in Wave

  • Double-entry accounting
  • Financial reporting
  • Receipt scanning
  • Multi-currency
  • Sales tax tracking
  • Etsy
  • Shoeboxed
  • PCI compliant

Both cover

  • Invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • Bank reconciliation
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Zoho Books

  • Invoicingnot Wave
  • Expense managementnot Wave
  • Tax preparationnot Wave

Wave

  • Invoicing and bookkeeping for very small businesses and freelancersnot Zoho Books
  • Accepting card payments against issued invoicesnot Zoho Books

Where each one falls short

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

Zoho Books

  • Payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • Limited access to historical financial data compared to competitors
  • Customer support is slow with long response times and frustrating workarounds
  • Fewer integrations than QuickBooks Online and Xero
  • User limit restrictions (1-15 depending on plan) compared to Xero's unlimited users
  • Occasional inaccuracies in automatic exchange rate updates for international transactions

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

Zoho Books

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user + accountant
    • Unlimited invoices
  • Standard$20/month
    • 3 users
    • Core accounting
  • Professional$60/month
    • 5 users
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$120/month
    • 10 users
    • Inventory management

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 Zoho Books if

  • You need financial reports.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want tax compliance.
Zoho Books review

Choose Wave if

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

Questions people ask

Is Zoho Books or Wave better?
Neither clearly leads. Zoho Books 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, Zoho Books or Wave?
Zoho Books starts at Free and Wave at Free.
Does Zoho Books or Wave run on more platforms?
Zoho Books runs on Web, iOS, Android. Wave runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Zoho Books for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Zoho Books best used for?
Zoho Books is most often used for invoicing, expense management, tax preparation. Of those, invoicing and expense management are not what Wave is typically brought in for.
What can Zoho Books do that Wave cannot?
Zoho Books covers Financial reports, Tax compliance, Zoho CRM, SOC 2. Wave covers Double-entry accounting, Financial reporting, Receipt scanning, Multi-currency. Both handle Invoicing, Expense tracking, Bank reconciliation, PayPal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zoho Books: Does Zoho Books support payroll?

Zoho Books offers limited payroll integration available only in Texas and California currently. Outside these states, users must use separate payroll software.

Source
Zoho Books: How many users can access one account?

User limits vary by plan: Free tier (1 user + accountant), Standard (3 users), Professional (5 users), Premium (10 users), Elite (15 users). Each business requires separate subscription.

Source
Zoho Books: What integrations does Zoho Books support?

Zoho Books integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Razorpay, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Google Sheets, and 500+ apps via Zapier. It integrates with other Zoho products like Zoho Inventory and Zoho Projects.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Zoho Books

More on Wave

Keep looking

Other head to heads