Invoice Forever vs Wave
The short answer. Wave is the strongest free competitor here and deserves credit for it: unlimited invoices, your own logo and real bookkeeping at $0. The catch is what Starter withholds. Bank import, unlimited receipt capture and removing Wave's branding from invoice footers sit behind the $19 Pro plan, automated late payment reminders on Starter only run if you take payments through Wave, and Wave is built primarily for the US and Canada. Invoice Forever sends reminders without conditions, and knows the tax rules for 52 countries.
What Wave costs
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0/month | Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records |
| Pro | $19/month | $190/year. Adds bank import, unlimited receipt capture and unconditional reminders, and removes Wave's footer branding |
| Wave Advisors | From $149/month | Bookkeeping done for you |
| Invoice Forever | $0/month | Everything, unlimited, with no paid tier to move to |
Their free option
Genuinely generous: unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records, and you can add your logo and brand colours. Not included: automatic bank transaction import and categorisation, removing Wave's branding from invoice footers, attachments, and adding admin, editor or viewer users. Receipt scanning is an add-on at $8 a month, and automated late payment reminders only run if you accept online payments through Wave, which costs 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex).
Where Wave is genuinely better
Writing a comparison page that finds no merit in the competitor would be a waste of your time, so here is the honest list.
- Real double-entry bookkeeping included at no cost, which is remarkable for a free product.
- Integrated card and bank payments, so clients pay the invoice directly and it reconciles automatically.
- Bank feeds on the Pro plan pull transactions in automatically.
- Receipt scanning, so a photo of a receipt becomes an expense record ($8 a month on the free plan, included in Pro).
- A long track record and a large user base in North America.
Where Invoice Forever is the better answer
- Automated late payment reminders are free here with no conditions. On Wave's free plan they only run if you take online payments through Wave; otherwise they need Pro at $19 a month.
- Tax rules, currency and required fields built in for 52 countries. Wave is strongest in the US and Canada.
- A free EN 16931 e-invoice export, which matters as the EU mandates arrive and which Wave does not offer.
- No payment-processing cut, because we do not handle your money at all.
So which one
Pick Wave if: You are in the US or Canada, you want bookkeeping and invoicing together for free, and you want clients to pay by card inside the invoice.
Pick Invoice Forever if: You are outside North America, you invoice in multiple countries or currencies, or you want automatic payment reminders without paying $19 a month or routing your clients' payments through Wave.
Trying it costs nothing and needs no account. The invoice generator is open right now, so you can make a real invoice with your own details and see whether the output is good enough before moving anything.
Questions people ask
Is Wave actually free?
The Starter plan is genuinely free and includes unlimited invoices, bookkeeping, and your own logo and brand colours. Automatic bank import, unlimited receipt capture and removing Wave's footer branding are on the $19 per month Pro plan. On Starter, receipt capture is an $8 per month add-on and automated reminders only run if you accept online payments. Card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); on Pro, the first 10 card transactions each month are 2.9% + $0.
Can I use my own logo on a free Wave invoice?
Yes. Wave's pricing page lists adding your logo and brand colours on the free Starter plan. Removing Wave's own branding from invoice footers is a Pro feature. On Invoice Forever, uploading your logo is free as well.
Does Wave work outside the US and Canada?
It can be used more widely, but its payments, bank connections and tax handling are built around the US and Canada. If you invoice across Europe or elsewhere, a tool with per-country tax rules and an EU e-invoice export will fit better.
Other comparisons
Invoice Forever vs Invoice Ninja →
Invoice Ninja's free plan stops at 5 clients. Ours doesn't stop. But Invoice Ninja is open source, and if you want to run your invoicing on your own server, that matters more than price.
Invoice Forever vs FreshBooks →
FreshBooks is accounting software that invoices. If you only need the invoicing, you are paying $23 a month minimum for a plan that still caps you at 5 clients.
Invoice Forever vs Zoho Invoice →
Zoho Invoice is free and means it, so the comparison is not about price. It is about ceilings, and about whether you want to be inside the Zoho ecosystem.
Try it before you switch.
Make a real invoice with your own details. No account, no card.