⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: Wave starts free, with a paid Pro plan at $19/month. AutoEntry pricing starts at $12/month and scales by credits.
- Best for: Wave fits small business owners who need full accounting. AutoEntry fits accountants who want to cut manual data entry.
- Key difference: Wave is small business accounting software. AutoEntry is a data extraction tool that feeds your accounting software.
- Our pick: Wave for most small businesses. Its free accounting software covers invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reports at no cost.
Wave and AutoEntry both show up when you search for accounting tools.
But they are not the same kind of product.
Wave is free accounting software for small business owners.
AutoEntry is a data capture tool that ends manual data entry.
One runs your books. The other feeds data into them.
This Wave accounting review breaks down both, so you pick the right one.
Read this Wave review before you choose your accounting tool.
Wave organizes its service into two plans for personal finance and business books.
Overview
This Wave vs AutoEntry comparison covers pricing, key features, and ease of use.
We also break down who each tool works best for.
Our writers spent hands-on time with both Wave and AutoEntry.
Those notes appear in the “What Our Team Noticed” sections below.
By the end, you will know which accounting software fits your needs.
What is Wave?
Wave is cloud-based accounting software for small business owners.
It supports over 2 million small businesses with money management features.
The free Starter plan includes unlimited invoices, expense tracking, and basic reports.
You can auto import bank transactions and accept online payments too.
Wave is built for freelancers and solopreneurs with no accounting background.
Wave Financial also offers payroll and tax filing as paid add-ons.
Wave
Free accounting software for small businesses. Send unlimited invoices, track expenses, and run financial reports. Payroll and payments are paid add-ons.
Wave Pricing
Here is what Wave costs in 2026. Let’s break it down.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Starter Plan | $0 | Freelancers needing free accounting |
| Pro plan | $19/month | Small business owners wanting auto features |
Pricing verified April 2026.
Free trial: No trial needed. The free Starter plan is free forever, with no credit card required.
Money-back guarantee: The Pro plan bills monthly at $19 or $190 annually. You can cancel anytime.
📌 Note: The free plan covers core accounting. Wave charges transaction fees of 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction and 1% for bank payments.
⚠️ Warning: Payroll costs extra. The base price is $40 per month plus $6 per active employee or contractor each month.
Key Benefits of Wave
Here is what makes Wave worth considering:
- Free plan that lasts: The free version includes unlimited invoices, expense management, and basic reports. There is no monthly fee for core accounting.
- Unlimited users: Wave allows unlimited users for free. QuickBooks restricts the number of users based on the plan.
- Recurring invoices: You can schedule recurring billing and send automated payment reminders to customers.
- Multiple companies: Manage accounting for multiple businesses under one account. This is handy for small business owners with side projects.
- Strong security: Wave uses up to 256-bit TLS encryption and PCI Level 1 compliance to protect financial data. Multi factor authentication adds another layer at sign-in.
- Double-entry books: Wave’s accounting software is double-entry, which helps accountants keep clean bookkeeping records.
- Payroll and tax filing: Wave Payroll lets you pay employees by direct deposit and offers tax filing in 14 states.
- Flexible billing tools: Wave integrates invoicing features with payment links, and accepts credit card payments, Apple Pay, and bank payments.
- Multiple users and reports: Add multiple users and filter financial reports by date range with no per-seat additional costs.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer signed up for Wave and spent several days exploring the platform. Here is what stood out:
Wave Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Free plan includes unlimited invoices and expense tracking
- Clean, intuitive dashboard showing cash flow, income, and expenses
- Unlimited users at no extra cost
- Mobile app for sending invoices and receipt scanning
❌ Cons
- Some users report slow support and bank syncing glitches
- No built-in time tracking or inventory management
- Core plan limits scalability for complex business needs
What is AutoEntry?
AutoEntry is an AI-powered, cloud-based data extraction tool for accountants.
It automatically captures invoices, receipts, and bank statement data.
The captured data uploads straight to your cloud accounting software.
AutoEntry is owned by Sage, which acquired it in September 2019.
It uses optical character recognition to extract data with up to 99% accuracy.
The goal is simple. It removes the manual data entry from your day.
AutoEntry
AI data capture tool owned by Sage. It extracts data from invoices, receipts, and bank statements. The data publishes to Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks.
AutoEntry Pricing
AutoEntry uses a flexible, credit-based pricing model. Each subscription level comes with a monthly credit allowance, and higher tiers effectively give you a discounted rate per credit. Here is the plan breakdown.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | $12/month | Solo bookkeepers, low volume |
| Silver | $23/month | Small firms growing volume |
| Gold | $44/month | Busy bookkeeping practices |
| Platinum | $98/month | High-volume accountants |
| Diamond | $285/month | Large firms, many clients |
| Sapphire | $450/month | Enterprise-level processing |
Pricing verified April 2026.
Free trial: AutoEntry offers a free trial with credits so you can test data capture before you pay.
Money-back guarantee: It runs on a rolling monthly subscription. You can cancel, pause, or downgrade at any time.
📌 Note: Credits are the currency in AutoEntry. Different document types use different amounts. Unused credits roll over for up to 90 days.
⚠️ Warning: Heavy users report processing delays during peak periods. Large document batches can take several hours, sometimes up to 24 hours, and a few clients note it can stretch across business days at month end.
Key Benefits of AutoEntry
Here is what makes AutoEntry worth considering:
- Big time savings: AutoEntry provides time savings of up to 90% compared to manual entry. It cuts the time spent on paperwork and the effort of keying in receipts, invoices, and other financial documents.
- Line item extraction: It extracts detailed line items from invoices, not just totals. This gives you full purchase invoice detail.
- Wide integration: AutoEntry integrates with major accounting software including Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks.
- Bank statement processing: It converts scanned PDF bank statements directly into CSV or accounting-ready formats.
- Smart learning: The system uses machine learning to remember nominal codes and tax rules for each supplier. It can auto merge invoices with matching supplier statements to save review work.
- Auto publish: AutoEntry can auto publish extracted data to your accounting software after a quick review.
- Mobile capture: The mobile app lets users take photos of receipts on the go, then upload them by email or app.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer tested AutoEntry by uploading sample invoices and receipts. Here is what stood out:
AutoEntry Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Up to 99% accurate data extraction from documents
- Saves up to 90% of manual data entry time
- Credits roll over for up to 90 days
- Easy-to-use interface and mobile app for capturing receipts
❌ Cons
- Processing lags during peak periods, up to 24 hours for big batches
- Learning curve when setting up extraction rules
- Focuses on data capture, not end-to-end accounting
Feature Comparison
Ready to dive into a detailed comparison of Wave vs AutoEntry?
We will explore nine key areas to help you decide which platform suits your needs.
| Feature | Wave | AutoEntry |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $0 (free plan) | $12/month |
| Free Plan | ✅ | ❌ (trial only) |
| Full Accounting | ✅ | ❌ |
| Invoicing | ✅ | ❌ |
| Data Extraction | ❌ | ✅ |
| Bank Statement to CSV | ❌ | ✅ |
| Payroll | ✅ (add-on) | ❌ |
| Mobile App | ✅ | ✅ |
| Best For | Small business owners | Accountants and bookkeepers |
1. Core Function
Wave: Wave is full small business accounting software. It tracks income and expenses, sends invoices, and generates financial reports. You run your whole books in one place. Wave makes daily bookkeeping simple for non-accountants.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry is a data extraction tool, not a full accounting system. It captures data from documents and sends it to your accounting software. It focuses on data capture rather than end-to-end document management.
⚠️ Warning: These tools are not direct rivals. Many firms use AutoEntry to feed data into accounting software like Wave, Xero, or QuickBooks.
2. Invoicing
Wave: Wave’s invoicing software lets you create customizable, unlimited invoices and track payment flows. You can set up recurring invoices and send automated payment reminders. Users report the invoicing process is straightforward and efficient.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry does not create invoices. Instead, it reads invoices you receive and extracts the line items. The data then flows into your bookkeeping records for processing.
3. Data Entry and Capture
Wave: Wave lets you connect bank accounts so transactions sync automatically and pull in transactions automatically, which reduces manual entry. Automatic bank transaction imports and unlimited digital receipt capture sit in the paid Pro plan, the main paid plan Wave offers.
AutoEntry: This is AutoEntry’s whole reason to exist. It uses AI and optical character recognition to extract data from receipts, invoices, and statements. It is up to 99% accurate and removes the bulk of manual data entry, giving peace of mind that figures are captured correctly.
4. Bank Statement Processing
Wave: Wave connects to your bank accounts to auto import bank transactions. Some users report occasional glitches with bank connections and the odd syncing issue.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry processes about 80% of bank statement data in roughly 4 hours. It converts scanned bank statements directly into CSV, which users find highly useful. It also automates reconciliation.
5. Integrations
Wave: Wave’s integration options are more limited than competitors like QuickBooks and Xero. It works best as a standalone platform for small business accounting and payroll.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry integrates with a wide range of accounting software, including Sage, QuickBooks, and Xero. It publishes extracted data directly into the system you already use.
6. Payroll and Tax
Wave: Wave offers accounting and payroll under one roof. You can pay an independent contractor or active employee by direct deposit, and each independent contractor paid this way gets a self-service portal for pay stubs. It generates W2 and 1099 forms and handles tax filing in 14 states.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry has no payroll features. It is a data tool only. For payroll processing, you pair it with your main accounting software.
7. Mobile App
Wave: Wave’s mobile app lets you send invoices and track expenses on the go. It keeps the same ease of use as the desktop version, with receipt scanning built in.
AutoEntry: The AutoEntry mobile app lets users take photos of receipts on the go. Users report high satisfaction with the app for quick capture from a mobile phone.
8. Reporting
Wave: Wave provides basic financial reports, including balance sheets and income statements. It tracks cash flow well but lacks advanced budgeting and forecasting tools for complex businesses.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry is not a reporting tool. It prepares a trial balance for an unlimited number of clients and matches invoices to monthly supplier statements. The reports live in your accounting software.
9. Ease of Use
Wave: Wave is designed to be user-friendly for small business owners with no accounting background. The interface is clean and uncluttered, with in-app guidance for common financial processes.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry is designed to be easy to use, with a focus on simplicity. There is a short learning curve when setting up extraction rules, but daily use is fast once configured.
10. Pricing & Cost
Let’s compare the pricing plans side by side.
| Plan Level | Wave | AutoEntry |
|---|---|---|
| Free / Entry | Starter: $0 | Bronze: $12/month |
| Mid Tier | Pro: $19/month | Silver: $23/month |
| Higher Tier | — | Gold: $44/month |
| Top Tier | — | Sapphire: $450/month |
Wave: Wave wins on upfront cost. The free Starter plan gives you real accounting features for $0. The Pro plan adds auto features for $19 per month. Wave is generally more affordable than QuickBooks and Xero.
AutoEntry: AutoEntry pricing starts at $12 per month but scales by credits. For example, 50 credits costs $17 per month and 100 credits costs $23 per month. High-volume firms can climb to the $450 Sapphire plan.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Free accounting | Wave | Starter plan is $0 |
| Cut manual data entry | AutoEntry | AI capture, 99% accurate |
| Send invoices | Wave | Unlimited invoices included |
| Process bank statements | AutoEntry | PDF to CSV in hours |
| Run payroll | Wave | Direct deposit and tax filing |
💰 Your Budget
Wave’s free plan is hard to beat on a tight budget. AutoEntry costs money from day one because it is a paid productivity tool for accountants.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
If you already use Sage, Xero, or QuickBooks, AutoEntry plugs in to speed up data entry. If you want a standalone platform, Wave runs your books on its own.
📝 Your Workflow
Wave fits owners who do their own books and want invoicing plus expense tracking. AutoEntry fits firms drowning in receipts and other financial documents.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Wave is easy for beginners with no accounting background. AutoEntry has a short learning curve for setting up extraction rules, then it gets fast.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Wave’s free version lets you test the full free platform with no time limit. AutoEntry gives trial credits so you can test data capture before paying.
🛟 Support Options
Wave’s customer support is limited for free users, mainly a help center and chatbot. AutoEntry support feedback is mixed, with 82% reporting positive experiences.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these tools? Here is what to expect if you switch.
🔄 Switching from Wave to AutoEntry?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Faster data extraction from invoices and receipts
- PDF bank statement conversion to CSV
- Detailed line item capture, not just totals
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Free invoicing and expense tracking
- Built-in payroll and tax filing
- A standalone accounting system
📋 How to switch:
- Keep your main accounting software running
- Create an AutoEntry account and pick a credit plan
- Connect AutoEntry to publish data into your books
🔄 Switching from AutoEntry to Wave?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Free accounting software with no monthly fee
- Unlimited invoices and recurring billing
- Payroll and direct deposit in one platform
❌ What you’ll lose:
- AI-powered bulk data capture
- Detailed line item extraction
- Wide integration with Sage and other systems
📋 How to switch:
- Export your data from AutoEntry and your current books
- Create a free Wave account
- Connect your bank accounts and import transactions
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison focused on small businesses, freelancers, and accountants. We did not test high-volume custom packages or deep multi-currency workflows. Our notes are based on the April 2026 versions, so features may have changed since then. If you run a large firm with complex needs, your priorities may differ from what we covered here.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | Wave |
| 🚀 Accounting Features | Wave |
| ⚡ Data Capture Speed | AutoEntry |
| 🎯 Extraction Accuracy | AutoEntry |
| 👶 Ease of Use | Wave |
| 🔌 Integrations | AutoEntry |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | Wave |
🏆 WINNER: WAVE
Wave wins 4 out of 6 categories.
Best for: Free accounting, invoicing, small business owners and freelancers
Wave and AutoEntry are two very different products. They solve different problems.
Wave is free accounting software for running your whole books.
AutoEntry is a data extraction tool for accountants who hate manual data entry.
AutoEntry is excellent if you process heaps of receipts and statements each month.
But for most small businesses that need core accounting, Wave is the better starting point. We recommend Wave for solopreneurs and simple service-based businesses.
More of Wave Compared
Here is how Wave stacks up against other competitors. For a wider list, see our Wave alternatives guide.
Wave wins on: Free core accounting, unlimited users at no cost, lower upfront price
QuickBooks wins on: Advanced features, deeper integrations, inventory and time tracking
Wave wins on: Free plan, simpler setup for beginners, no per-user fees
Xero wins on: More advanced reporting, larger app marketplace, better for growing teams
Wave wins on: Zero monthly cost, unlimited invoices free, double-entry general ledger
FreshBooks wins on: Built-in billable hours tracking, stronger client portals, project tools
More of AutoEntry Compared
Here is how AutoEntry stacks up against other competitors. For more options, browse our AutoEntry alternatives roundup.
AutoEntry wins on: Often more cost-effective, credits that roll over, Sage ownership backing
Dext wins on: Faster processing for some users, broader expense workflows, polished app
AutoEntry vs Hubdoc
AutoEntry wins on: Detailed line item extraction, bank statement to CSV, flexible credit pricing
Hubdoc wins on: Free with Xero plans, tight Xero document fetching, simpler scope
AutoEntry wins on: Invoice and bank statement capture, accountant-focused publishing, supplier statement matching
Expensify wins on: Employee expense reports, corporate card management, travel workflows
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wave really free?
Yes. The free Starter plan covers core accounting at $0, with unlimited invoices and expense tracking. The paid Pro plan adds auto features. Payments and payroll carry separate fees.
Is Wave as good as QuickBooks?
For freelancers and simple businesses, yes. Wave is cheaper and easier. QuickBooks offers more advanced features, deeper integrations, and tools like inventory that larger or complex businesses may need.
Who owns AutoEntry?
Sage owns AutoEntry. The acquisition happened in September 2019. AutoEntry still integrates with other accounting software too, including Xero and QuickBooks, not just Sage products.
How long does AutoEntry take to process?
Most invoices process in 10 to 120 minutes. About 80% of receipts finish in roughly 2 hours. Large batches can take several hours, sometimes up to 24 hours during peak times.
Why did I see a Cloudflare Ray ID page on AutoEntry’s site?
That is a security service screen. It checks your mobile phone or browser before you proceed. If you are blocked, email the site owner with the Cloudflare Ray ID shown to resolve access.
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